Icon:X-Men Evolution
by NorJC
Summary: Cerebro discovers the existence of a powerful hero who Superman himself had once said had hit him even harder than Darkseid ever had. This hero now finds himself stranded on X-Men:Evolution's Earth. This brother from another universe is destined to change the course of that world's history. Crossover with Milestone Comics/DC Comics Icon. AU from Evolution's 2nd Season.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: the characters from the X-men:Evolution belong to Marvel Comics. The character of Icon belongs to DC Comics. My thanks go to the creators of Icon, the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only and no money shall be earned by the writer._

Chapter 1

 _Personal log. I was en-route to Earth to continue the mission assigned to me by the Cooperative to observe and assist humanity in its efforts to engage in self-improvement in my guise as the super hero known as Icon. I was also looking forward to seeing Raquel and my godson Armistad, as well. My ship was preparing to exit hyperspace on the edge of the solar system when it struck an undetected quantum string. The collision sent the ship plunging through space, out of control, to stop here, wherever I am._

Arnus, originally from the Cooperative planet Terminus, picked himself up from the deck of his starship. "Miriam?"

 _"Yes, Arnus?"_ his ship's sentient Info Tool responded. After the Cooperative had gifted the ship to him for defeating the dreaded Yoongar, he'd named the living computer after the slave woman who'd found him after his escape pod had reconfigured his genetic structure so he could be 'reborn' as an African-American male child.

"Ship's status, please."

 _"Except for secondary systems and life support, everything is down. We're on impulse power only and I'm holding us in orbit."_

"In orbit where?"

 _"Earth. We were on course in this direction when we were pulled in by the star. Apparently the collision threw us in the same direction."_

"Screen on."

He saw an unimpeded view of North America on the screen, not a cloud in sight.

 _"Arnus, we are too low in the atmosphere to retain this orbit."_

"Can we make it to the hangar at my house, Miriam?"

 _"My sensors are unable to locate your home. In fact, I cannot locate Dakota City at all."_

He blinked twice when he heard that. "Scan the planet for Metropolis," he ordered. Perhaps Superman may have some idea of what had happened to Dakota City.

 _"I am unable to locate Metropolis, either."_

That certainly did not sound good. "Miriam, is our cloaking device active?"

 _"Yes."_

"Good. We need to find a remote location that has a communication net we can tap into to determine where we currently are."

Several moments later, Miriam said, _"I have a remote weather and science station on one of the islands in the Falklands chain. It should meet our requirements."_

"Very well then. Take us to that island."

 _"Acknowledged."_

#

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **August 21, 2001 0801 EST**

"My God!"

Charles Xavier ripped his Cerebro helmet off of his head to avoid the surge of power that had struck the instrument. Before the power surge, he'd been running a routine scan of the planet for any signs of a new mutant. Then he'd detected a being so incredibly powerful, his mind almost couldn't handle what he'd found. As the computer locked in on the mutant's location, his right eyebrow nearly rose to the ceiling. "He's on Gough Island in the Falklands chain," he muttered lowly. The island was practically uninhabited except for the members of a small South African weather station and scientific research team.

Could he be one of the members of the team, he wondered as he shut down Cerebro before he exited the chamber. Then he telepathically called out to the two instructors of his Institute. _"Ororo, Logan, please report to my office immediately."_

Minutes later, he wheeled himself to his office and found his two friends inside awaiting his arrival. Logan, code-name Wolverine, was a short, stocky man with a spectacular muscular physique. His mutation provided him with heightened senses, retractable bone claws and an amazing healing factor that probably made the man an immortal. Unfortunately, a rogue government agency had experimented on the man in the past and had fused molten adamantium onto his skeletal structure and his bone claws, as well as severely damaging Logan's memory. The other instructor, Ororo Munroe, code-name Storm, was a tall, aristocratic beauty with azure eyes and long white hair. Her mutant ability allowed her to control the weather.

"Charles," she asked, "What has happened?"

"Cerebro has found…something. It is a mutant, one who I believe is more powerful than any mutant we've ever discovered before. Even Magneto's power or my own would not measure up against this new mutant's power. Currently, the mutant happens to be on Gough Island."

"Where in the hell is Gough Island, Chuck?" Logan grunted.

"It's in the South Atlantic and a part of the Falklands Island chain. It's practically uninhabited except for a small research post run by the South African government."

"What do you want to do about this mutant?" Ororo asked.

"We must travel to that island immediately. We simply cannot allow anyone else to contact him before we have the opportunity to present what we have to offer at our Institute to him. If Magneto were to find this mutant and turn the mutant to his cause, I shudder to think of what could happen. Logan, Ororo, we'll leave Scott and Jean in charge of the Institute while we're gone. I want you both in your uniforms when we fly the Blackbird there to greet our new friend."

"If this guy is as powerful as you think he is, Charles, I hope your optimism about him is spot on."

As his two friends rushed out of his office to prepare for their journey, he found himself agreeing wholeheartedly with Logan's assessment.

#

 **Gough Island**

 **1625 GMT**

Miriam had shown Arnus enough by now to prove that he was on the planet Earth in another universe.

This Earth didn't have Superman, the Justice League or Dakota City. Atlantis' ruler here was a being called Namor. Also, New York City appeared to be the center of activity for enhanced beings on this world. The world-wide media reported on the exploits of an organization known as the Avengers and a family called the Fantastic Four.

There were also some reports about mysterious beings who were called mutants or humans who possessed a so-called X-Gene. Although some of these reports were clearly short on facts in regards to some of the powers of these mutants, there were credible scientific theories on the nature of human mutation from several learned sources.

What had been very troubling about some of the media coverage on these mutants was the racial animus that some of the _homo sapiens_ had for their mutated brothers and sisters. There were some who believed the government should register these mutants to be able to continuously track them. He smirked at that. In the United States of America on his Earth as well as this one, the federal government didn't even register fire arms, instruments that have killed far more people in that single nation every year than any altercation between enhanced humans or mutants. Worse, some fanatics wanted to commit genocide and wipe out every mutant on the planet.

In his guise of Augustus Freeman, he'd fought against racial prejudice and oppression during America's Civil War and fought against tyranny and genocide during World War II. If he was now stuck living on this world considering how unlikely it was that he could return to his own universe, he knew he'd fight for justice and equality for everyone, no matter who they were.

 _"Arnus, Alert: an aircraft is approaching our position at a high rate of velocity. The craft is quite unusual for an Earth vessel. It employs a rudimentary masking field that would shield it from most Terran detection systems."_

"Miriam, please identify the craft."

A holographic image shimmered into existence right in front of him. _"The aircraft is similar to the Lockheed SR-71, albeit stubbier and wider than the reconnaissance aircraft in my databanks. There are three life signs aboard, all are X-Gene positive. The craft is slowing as it approaches the island. Do you wish to maintain our cloak?"_

He narrowed his eyes for a moment then shook his head. "No. Decloak. I will exit the ship and greet our visitors."

#

As the Blackbird winged its way above the northern shore of Gough Island, her pilot announced to his passengers, "Storm, Chuck, radar has just picked up something close to us."

They all stared out of the windscreen for a few moments until Storm shouted, "There!"

The trio witnessed a strange craft hovering a few meters above the ground almost a quarter of a mile from the plane's current position.

"What is…it?" she asked, her voice full of wonder.

"I…I don't know," Charles admitted. Then he said, "Logan, take us toward it very slowly and set us down three hundred meters away from it. I don't want us to get too close. I don't want to frighten its occupants."

The pilot grunted to let Xavier know he'd heard his instructions and switched the craft to hover mode. Soon, Logan gently landed the aircraft on a patch of lowland grass sprinkled here and there with red crowberry bushes.

Once they'd secured the Blackbird and had exited the plane, Logan pulled his mask over his face and sniffed the air. "Folks, I don't smell anything that seems out of place, so far."

Storm placed herself behind Xavier's wheelchair and began to push him forward while Wolverine strolled a few meters ahead of them on point. When they were about fifty meters from the strange craft, someone shouted, "Greetings!" to them.

#

Ororo saw a tall, powerfully built Black man dressed in a crimson suit of body armor trimmed with gold bands around his arms and legs slowly floating down to the ground. In the center of his chest plate was a gold ring where his dramatic and billowy green cape was attached. The man wore blue gloves that reminded her of the kind that men used to wear to attend the opera in a bygone era. His face was very handsome and he appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties.

He had a slight smile on his face and seemed to present a non-threatening posture as he slowly walked toward them. Then he came to a halt about seven meters distant. "If you are the island's security personnel, I apologize for intruding upon your airspace. If you so desire, I shall leave immediately and never trouble you again."

"Please, wait!" Charles called out to the man. "We are not representatives of the government that owns the weather station here. We simply came here to talk to a mutant our instruments had detected on this island. I think the person we believed we'd find here is you; however, if the craft that is behind you is yours, I am now not so certain you are a mutant."

The man shook his head. "I am sorry you came all this way for nothing. I am not a mutant and I do not possess the X-Gene."

Charles nodded and said, "I realize that now. My device is designed to detect genes outside the human norm which is why it detected you. I, myself, am a mutant. My power is telepathy. I am able to read the thoughts of humans and mutants. However, I am unable to read any of your thoughts. I can sense your presence but that is all I can read."

"Interesting," the man said simply. "I suppose the reason you cannot read my thoughts is the fact that my genetic structure is a human/extra-terrestrial hybrid."

That declaration stunned Ororo and she could tell it had shaken her two companions, too. "Who are you?"

"On Earth, my Earth, that is, my name is Augustus Freeman. I was born on a planet in another galaxy in my universe called Terminus. Almost two centuries ago, I was marooned on my Earth and to survive, my life boat reconfigured my genetic structure to emulate the form of the first sentient being who'd found me. It made me take the form of a newborn, African-American male child based on the slave woman who'd discovered me."

"I see," Charles said. "Why, that's remarkable!"

"If it isn't just a load of B.S.," Wolverine noted with a growl.

The man chuckled as he regarded Logan. "I must admit that my story is quite…unique. However, considering the fact that I have a starship hovering above the ground behind me, I would argue that would give my tale some credence."

Storm blinked twice at that. The man did raise a good point. "Mr. Freeman—"

He interrupted her gently, "My dear lady, please call me Augustus."

She smiled at his gallantry. "Very well…Augustus. I was just curious about your attire. Is your uniform customary attire for the people of Terminus?"

"No. Actually, this is the costume I wore on my Earth in my guise as the super hero Icon. Now, for the moment, that's enough about me. Would you all be so kind as to introduce yourselves, please?"

"My apologies," Charles said. It was plain to her that her mentor was happy everyone was engaged in a calm and rational discussion for a change. "I am Professor Charles Xavier. The charming lady with me is Ms. Ororo Munroe and the gentleman's name is Logan. We are instructors at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Children, an institution where we teach mutants to control their gifts and to use them for the benefit of all of humanity. We also believe in teaching mutants that the only viable way to peace and security for all is to not see ourselves as separate from homo sapiens."

"Quite interesting. I was just studying information my computer had collated regarding mutants and the issues regarding their integration into society as a whole. I would like to continue discussing this further with you in comfort, if you don't mind. Would you care to come aboard my starship where I can provide you with refreshments and accommodations?"

"Are you planning on inserting any probes up any of our orifices or something?" Wolverine demanded.

"Er…no. I just planned on sitting down and engaging in a civilized conversation."

"Well then…I'm okay with that," Logan said.

Storm was actually surprised that Logan wasn't more aggressive in his attitude toward the stranger. However, he had done nothing but be polite during their conversation; that's why her companions and she felt so at ease in his presence.

"Splendid," Augustus said. The he spoke into a tiny microphone on his collar. "Miriam, target all sentient life in a two decare radius around me and trasmat us to the ship's lounge."

Then, in the blink of an eye, she found herself in a brightly lit room where three chairs awaited them along with a small table with three carafes, four glasses, four coffee mugs, and some tableware. Augustus offered coffee, tea and water. Wolverine agreed to a glass of water. He sniffed it first then took a tentative sip. When nothing seemed to happen to him, he nodded to his fellow companions. Ororo then asked for a glass of water and the stranger poured a glass for her then himself. Charles declined having any refreshment politely.

Moments later, Xavier said, "Augustus, you mentioned in passing that you had lived on a different Earth than ours. Can you tell us more about that?"

"Of course. After spending many years marooned on Earth, my people had finally rescued me several years ago. Before I left my people, I was an adjudicator. One of the criminals I had had incarcerated for his crimes against my people found his way to Earth after I had returned to Terminus. He was determined to kill every human being on the planet. So I returned to Earth to stop him. After that, circumstances required me to remain on Earth for most of my time with periodic transits to Terminus. Today, I was returning to my Earth from Terminus through hyperspace, a realm that allows starships to travel faster-than-light."

"Yes," the Professor noted. "A former student of mine, Reed Richards, has proven the existence of hyperspace very recently."

"That is quite surprising," Augustus observed. "Only a few people on my Earth knew of its existence. The only reason they knew was due to knowledge provided by other extra-terrestrial beings. To have an Earth-born human discover hyperspace at this point in your history is…intriguing." Then he chuckled a bit and said, "I will look into this more later. However, I should continue my tale about how I ended up here."

"Please do," Charles said.

"Well…as my ship prepared to exit hyperspace at the edge of my Earth's solar system, she apparently collided with a quantum string. These anomalies are quite rare and, to my knowledge, none of my people had ever had a similar encounter before. It seems that this particular string shifted my ship from the hyperspace realm connected to my universe to the one connected to yours. After I'd arrived to your world, I soon discovered that I had been displaced from the Earth that I'd known to yours."

"That sounds like you have had a very trying experience," Ororo said. "Do you think you will be able to find a way to return to your universe?"

Augustus sighed heavily. "No, I don't believe so. As I mentioned before, quantum strings are an extremely rare anomaly and even my people don't know much about them. In fact, I would have no idea how to begin to reverse the process."

"I'm real sorry to hear that, bub," Logan said.

The stranger nodded to her teammate. "Thank you for your kind sentiments, Logan."

"What do you plan on doing now?" she asked.

"At the moment, I don't really know what I'm going to do about my situation," he admitted. "I may remain hidden on this island until I determine what do with myself. In the meantime, I can use my enhanced abilities to help those who are in desperate need of assistance."

"Enhanced abilities? Do you mind telling us what kind of abilities you possess?" the Professor asked.

"Well, I do have an assortment of abilities due to the hybrid genetic structure I possess. I have what you may refer to as super strength, far in excess to what is reported as the upper limit of the gentleman you may know as the Fantastic Four's 'The Thing.' I possess super speed and super reflexes, allowing me to fly at Mach Five in the atmosphere and faster in the vacuum of space."

"You don't need to use a space suit?" a stunned Logan asked.

"No. My body and constitution is self-sustaining in any environment. My body is nearly impervious to high impact forces or blunt force trauma. I also have enhanced senses, can project beams comprised of positrons to penetrate non-organic material or to stun sentient entities, and project force fields to imprison my opponents temporarily."

Ororo was simply gobsmacked by all of the abilities he'd listed for them. Then when she'd glanced at Logan and Charles, she'd found they were as stunned by what they'd heard, as well. Augustus, on the other hand, just looked as if he'd been discussing the local weather.

Several seconds later, she heard Charles in her mind. _"Ororo, Logan, even though I realize that this may be somewhat of a risk to us, I believe we should offer to have him join us at our Institute. Having him with us is a much better scenario than having him fight against us if he is influenced by someone like Magneto or worse."_

 _"I agree, Charles,"_ she beamed to her mentor.

 _"Keep your friends close and your potential enemies closer, eh, Chuck?"_ Logan noted through the telepathic connection.

"Augustus, what did you do to make a living on your Earth?" Xavier asked.

"I was one of the managing partners of a successful small law firm. I am certain that my ship could plant the proper credentials in your computer systems to support my identity here and provide me a membership in the appropriate bar. Of course, it will take some time to make connections and develop a practice here."

"That seems like a very logical course of action, Augustus," the Professor agreed. "Of course, I can assist you by making introductions and by retaining you to represent my Institute and my business interests."

"Thank you, Charles," the tall man said. "I appreciate your kindness."

"Perhaps," Storm said, "this arrangement could be beneficial to all of us, Augustus. You see, we have just added a crop of new students to the Institute that could use some mentorship as well as benefit from our training and experience. However, there are only three of us to fifteen of them. It would be wonderful if we could have you join us as a part-time instructor, mostly in the mornings and the evenings. During the school year, the children attend a local high school for most of the day, so you could start your law practice with little interference from them."

He viewed her with a look that showed he was a little uncertain about her proposal. "I have never been a parent before and I've been told by a close associate of mine," Augustus noted with a sad smile, "that I'm not the nurturing kind."

Logan shot a wry look at the man. "Hey, bub, do you think I look like the coddling type to you? We can leave the nurturing to Ororo and Charles while we show the brats how to survive in a cold, cruel world."

"I see." Then he flashed the first grin they'd seen from him. "I suppose I am good at teaching hard lessons when I put my mind to it." Then he turned serious once more. "Professor, how does it work with the instructors and you? Are we colleagues to you or employees?"

"The instructors are treated as my colleagues. If the students are engaged in combat training, an instructor is in charge. If the students are engaged in an actual mission, the two oldest students are the team leaders; however, if an instructor is participating on a mission with the team and a team leader has lost the confidence of his or her team or the team is in danger of being captured or killed, the instructor has the option of taking command of the team for the remainder of the mission. As for the relationship between instructors, I consult with them and we usually resolve issues by majority rule. However, if we are in a crisis situation, the ultimate decision resides with me after I consult with the instructors."

Augustus narrowed his eyes at the Professor. "That could lead to myopic decisions at times, Charles, particularly if you're the only person who ultimately decides what constitutes the 'greater good.'"

"You've raised a very good point, Augustus, one I have never truly considered until now."

The other man simply shrugged. "Blame it on my legal training, Professor, to see flaws in any system. Although no system is perfect, the system you have is pretty good except in the case where someone could possibly pass themselves off as you and infiltrate your organization. I could help you improve your security systems using your own technology to avoid that problem. I would not want to insert my people's technology into your systems because if something ever happened to me, I don't want that to result in a flaw in your systems."

Well, Ororo mused to herself, his comments had only served to further seal the deal in her mind. Not only was he immensely powerful, at least according to Cerebro's readings, he was refined, intelligent, controlled, and diplomatic. Even though his story was fantastic, he seemed completely genuine during their conversation and did not seem over eager to assert he would be a good fit for the Institute.

Also, it didn't hurt that he looked quite fine for a man who was as tall as an NBA forward!

"Augustus," Charles said, "something tells me that you would be a wonderful addition to our Institute. We can provide you a place with people who would accept you into the fold no matter who you happen to be while you're building a life here. And if you wish to use your powers for the benefit of humankind, I believe if you maintain a secret identity and present yourself as an enhanced human and provide your assistance in a manner that doesn't draw attention to the Institute, I think we would be comfortable with that arrangement."

"I suppose it would work if your Institute has a substantial amount of property. I can have the Maker, a sort of construction and fabricating device on my starship, construct a hidden hangar for the ship."

"How long would it take to build a hangar, bub?"

"Hmm…less than thirty minutes or so. It uses the technology of my people that can transmit matter into energy and reconstruct that matter into any form the Maker chooses. On my world, I had the Maker construct a hangar for the ship under my home's swimming pool. I am certain it could do the same here."

It was only when he discussed the capabilities of his starship that reminded Ororo that the man was an alien. Yet, was that so bad, considering how plenty of humans viewed mutants? The sad thing, though, for him, was that he was most likely the only alien from his world this universe would ever see. Losing both his home world and the Earth that he'd known must be truly devastating to his spirit.

"We know this is all new to you, Augustus," she said, "and it has to be difficult for you to cope with everything you must be experiencing after being displaced here. However, if you wish to join us, we would love to have you."

The man sighed deeply and nodded. "Very well," he said. "I shall follow your craft to your Institute."

#

TBC

 **Thank you for choosing to read this story and for your reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

**An advanced caution to the reader: the following chapter covers a somewhat alternate universe version of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the USA. Marvel Comics did a similar thing in the Amazing Spider-Man # 36. The attacks did coincide with the X-Men Evolution television show timeline, so this chapter addresses the attacks in that context. Most of what had occurred in the real world occurs in this chapter with the addition that many people in New York City blame the superheroes for not stopping the attacks from happening. I will try to treat the attacks in this story in a sensitive manner; however, if reading about the events could be disturbing or troubling to you, please skip the rest of this chapter.**

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 _Note: the characters from the X-men:Evolution belong to Marvel Comics. The character of Icon belongs to DC Comics. My thanks go to the creators of Icon, the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only and no money shall be earned by the writer._

 **Chapter 2**

Northern Virginia Airspace

September 11, 2001- 0921 EST

 _"Arnus, you are closing on your target rapidly. You should decrease your velocity…now."_

"Acknowledged," Icon replied to the sentient computer of his starship.

When the two jetliners had crashed into the World Trade Center's twin towers twenty minutes earlier, Miriam had tapped into the communications net of the nation's air defense grid. She'd found there were two more hijacked aircraft and that one was closer to its suspected target in Washington, D.C. Before Miriam's warning, Wolverine, Storm and he had been en-route to the World Trade Center to assist the city's first responders. Once they'd been warned by Miriam, both Logan and he had immediately decided to try and stop the hijacked planes from killing any more people then streaked into the crisp blue sky.

Now, he mentally toggled his suit's comm system to connect with Wolverine's. The other man was wrapped inside Icon's cape for his protection as they traveled toward their target pushing Mach Five. "We're almost there. I am reducing our velocity to match the jetliner's speed."

 _"Gotcha, bub. Just get me on that damn plane, Gus. I'll do the rest."_

He shook his head as he carefully released his partner from the protection of his cape. "No, Jim. I won't let you take all of this onto your shoulders alone. Essentially, these attacks are similar in scope to what occurred at Pearl Harbor back in 1941. Moreover, we don't have the time to both restrain the terrorists and save both aircraft. Therefore, it would be prudent to treat them as armed, enemy combatants when we board both planes."

 _"Agreed,"_ was all that his friend said.

As they closed with the aircraft, Icon thought about both Ororo and Charles for a moment or two. Given the professor's attitude toward violence, he hoped the other man would understand why Logan and he would do what had to be done during the next few minutes. He also hoped that she wouldn't be disgusted with either of them afterwards.

Once they'd reached the side of the aircraft where the forward hatch was located, Icon generated a positron field around his left fist and punched a hole through the door. Fortunately, their current altitude was low enough that the cabin didn't suffer from explosive decompression.

Then he opened his fist and grasped onto the frame of the door. Moments later, he ripped the hatch clean off of its hinges and hurled it in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean.

Now he sped into the passenger cabin and released his hold on Wolverine while using his massive body to block the door and keep Logan from being sucked out of the aircraft.

 _Snikt!_

Wolverine popped both sets of claws when they saw the bodies of the flight crew stuffed in the corner of the forward galley. Growling now, the shorter man used his claws to rip through the cockpit door while Icon turned to deal with the terrorists in the first class section.

He saw three men of Saudi descent charging toward him, brandishing knives. When the first man stabbed his chest plate, Icon ignored the knife and grabbed the man by the throat. Then without a moment's hesitation, he whirled and threw the startled man through the opening in the side of the airplane.

When the two remaining terrorists witnessed what he'd done to their compatriot, they froze.

Icon, though, pressed on.

He sped forward and clamped his hands around each man's neck before he dragged them to the opening and tossed them both out into the sky.

While he'd dealt with the terrorists in the passenger section, his enhanced hearing had heard his friend's claws slash into human flesh, shortly followed by two death screams. Then Wolverine yelled, "Icon! I've taken control of the aircraft but the bastards set the plane into a steep dive. I don't know if I can pull her up in time!"

"Do what you can, Wolverine! I'll help you level the aircraft outside!"

He flew through the door and sped up to position himself under the nose of the jetliner. He dug his fingers through the metal airframe to obtain a good grip and applied his super strength while manipulating graviton particles throughout his legs to lift the aircraft.

At first, the plane didn't budge an inch from its death dive. Grunting now, he pressed against the nose with all his might, struggling to overcome gravity's fatal hold on the jetliner.

Then, slowly, inexorably, the nose began to rise and level off. Sighing heavily in relief, he took the opportunity to glance down and found the aircraft was only a few hundred feet above the city's skyline.

Soon, he heard the thunder of the jet's engines as Wolverine applied more thrust from the cockpit.

 _"Hey, bub! I've got this baby in the pipe and she's five by five! I'll set her down at National,"_ Wolverine said over their comm system. _"You get after that last plane, ya hear?"_

"Acknowledged. I am on my way."

Icon descended below the slowly climbing aircraft and contacted Miriam. "Give me the position of the last aircraft."

 _"It has just crossed into Pennsylvania airspace, Arnus."_

"Thank you, Miriam," he said and ascended to an altitude where he could safely accelerate to high Mach speeds.

#

Precious minutes later, he caught a glimpse with his super vision of the last airliner somewhere southeast of Pittsburgh after closing to a distance of a hundred miles or so. Moments later, as he began to decelerate so he wouldn't overshoot his target, he gasped when the aircraft rolled onto her back and plummeted out of the sky right into the unforgiving ground.

"No!" he shouted and sped toward the crash site. Upon his arrival, though, it was clear that he'd arrived far too late.

He searched through the entire debris field but there was no sign of life.

After he'd satisfied himself that the numerous small fires at the crash site were not in danger of harming any habitats before the arrival of the rescue crews he'd heard in the distance, a saddened Icon turned away from the crash site and launched himself into the sky to retrieve Wolverine so they could return to the World Trade Center and assist their colleague Storm in rescue and recovery efforts.

#

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **October 2, 2001 – 1856 EST**

"I'm really, really sorry for running into your leg, Mr. Freeman."

Augustus Freeman shot a wry look at the boy and his four multiples after the child had bounced off, multiplied and fallen right on their butts. Then Augustus smirked at the young man. "That's quite all right, Mr. Maddox," he replied, amused at the boy's antics despite himself. "In the future, though, you need to be careful and slow down! If you'd run into Ms. Munroe, Ms. Grey, or, dare I say, Ms. Aqulla, you may have gravely injured them."

"Geez, Mr. Freeman! I wouldn't want to hurt anybody! I'll try and be more careful, honest!"

"All right then. Why don't you go downstairs, very _slowly_ , and find a good spot in front of the television to watch that special report."

"Yes, sir!" Jaime Maddox exclaimed before he turned and carefully (at least for him) walked down the mansion's ornate staircase.

With a smile on his face he watched the boy head down to the first floor and shook his head in wonder. He'd been living at the Institute for just six weeks now and felt as if he'd settled in surprisingly well for an old confirmed bachelor like himself. His private bedroom and en suite were well-appointed and comfortable. Athough it had been trying for him to have so many people, particularly, so many teen agers underfoot, Ororo's patience, advice and understanding had greatly assisted in his transition to the ways of the Institute. If only Raquel, his sidekick Rocket, from Dakota City could see him now, he mused as his heart filled with a sense of melancholy. She'd never believe how approachable he'd become during the past few weeks. And after leading the children in training exercises, particularly the New Mutants, he'd also found himself wishing that Estelle, his human wife, and he had tried to have children despite the possibility the slightest error in his genetic makeup could have caused problems with their baby's genetic structure.

Another opportunity forever lost.

"Augustus!" At the sound of the Windrider's cultured voice, his smile turned genuine. "I see that you handled that situation with young Jaime quite well for a man who'd gruffly advised me that you had no experience or temperament to deal with young people. I must say I am perplexed at which of you two old soldiers, Logan or you, has a bark that is worse than your bite," she teased gently.

"I must admit, I, too, am surprised that the children haven't pushed my sanity to the brink yet. Then again, I suppose if they've driven me insane, I wouldn't necessarily be aware of my condition."

She graced him with a beautiful smile and wrapped her arm around his as they started down the staircase together. "If we're caught up together in this insanity, I can't think of a person I'd rather share it with than you."

"I hope you feel that way after the children hear about what Logan and I did aboard that jetliner three weeks ago."

She sighed. "I know starting a new life on our world among a rambunctious group of teen agers has been difficult for you. However, even though you haven't been here long, they do look up to you. Besides, the one thing I've learned about these extraordinary children is to never underestimate their capacity for compassion and understanding. Your steady influence during their training sessions have done much to earn their trust. Do not be surprised when they show you they understand how hard it must be for you to live with what had to be done in that trying situation."

He pondered her words as the smile ran away from his face.

"What else is troubling you, my friend?"

"I am concerned about how the children will react to all that they'll see on the special report."

She nodded. "Although I share your concern to some degree, I still believe it is best to be transparent and honest with them. It is appropriate to expose them to what they will face someday in the real world rather than sugarcoat things for them."

Moments later, they entered the mansion's drawing room where two club chairs had been saved for them by several of their charges. Wolverine was already seated in one club chair where Kathryn "Kitty" Pryde was perched on one arm while her roommate, Rogue, sat on the other. Balanced on top of the back of Logan's chair was the blue-furred Kurt Wagner. Seated on two small chairs near Logan were the tall, lanky field leader of the X-Men, Scott Summers, wearing his ruby quartz spectacles and his second, the flame-haired telepath, Jean Grey.

He fought down the urge to smirk at the five X-Men when they glanced at him nervously. During a training session that Logan had set up to prepare the kids to take on Juggernaut, Icon had practically handed them their heads. His assessment of their performance wasn't harsh; he'd just been honest. In his view, they had a decent team with a good array of powers with the exception of the lack of a member with super strength, super speed, and invulnerability. Against foes like Juggernaut or the Blob, the absence of that capability was a major weakness that should be addressed as soon as practicable.

"Auntie O!" Evan Daniels now called out to Ororo. Her nephew patted the back of one of the club chairs. "We saved this one for you!" He was seated on one of its cushioned arms while Bobby Drake sat on the other. On the floor on either side of the club chair were Rahne Sinclair, a freshman from Scotland, and Sam Gunthrie, a sophomore from Kentucky.

Apparently saving the final club chair for him were the two girls that Ororo had teased were his surrogate daughters, Tabitha Smith and Amara Aqulla, the princess of Nova Roma, a recently discovered civilization in the Amazon jungles.

Finally, he spied Jubilation Lee, a half-Asian descent young lady from San Francisco, Roberto Costa, Ray Crisp and young Jaime seated at the foot of Charles Xavier's wheelchair.

Now everyone settled down when the broadcast began. Onscreen footage from a helicopter showed the rubble of the fallen World Trade Center Towers. Superimposed over the establishing shot was an image showing the second jetliner striking one of the towers, followed by an image showing FDNY personnel, the brave and the bold, rushing dauntlessly into one of the buildings, shortly followed by an image of the Avenger, Thor along with Storm calling down the rain to smother the flames while Magneto assisted other fire fighters in their rescue efforts by using his powers to move steel beams from the debris field.

Then the voice of the President of the United States spoke over the images on the screen.

 _Tonight, we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution. Whether we bring our enemies to justice or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done._

The images faded away to be replaced by a live broadcast of the special report's host. He described the timeline of each event that had occurred on that terrible day. He discussed how most of the countries in the world, including Latveria and Wakanda, had condemned the attacks and offered their condolences to the American people. Then he gave a full accounting of all the casualties the nation had suffered during the attacks.

After a short commercial break, the host returned to present a story of one of the attacks that had failed to deliver a strike against the Capitol. "We now go to Brian Fowler in Washington, D. C. for that report. Brian?"

"Good evening, Tom. American Flight 77 had been hijacked shortly after it had taken off from Dulles International Airport in Virginia. Five terrorists had grabbed the flight attendants and demanded the flight crew to open the cockpit door. After the flight crew complied with their demands, the terrorists brutally killed each member of the flight crew. Once they had taken control of the aircraft, they prepared to fly it into a target on the ground somewhere in the Capitol when suddenly, a fist slammed through the jetliner's main hatch. The hatch was then ripped from its hinges, allowing two men to board the craft mid-flight. One man appeared to be a tall man of African descent dressed in a crimson and gold costume with a cape that made him appear to some of the passengers like an 'avenging angel.' The other man was much shorter than his companion. He was garbed in an orange and black costume and had his face hidden by a cowl. This man also appeared to be armed with a set of metal claws on the back of each wrist."

"According to witnesses, the shorter man used his claws to break into the cockpit while the tall man engaged the terrorists in the passenger section of the aircraft. Then here is what happened next as seen by one of the flight attendants."

The reporter's image was replaced by a prerecorded film showing a woman in an attendant's uniform facing the camera. "The terrorists," she said, "were shocked when they saw the two costumed men tear their way into the aircraft. Then they rushed the tall man brandishing knives. When the first one reached the man, the terrorist tried to stab him but the blade just brushed off the breastplate of his suit."

"What happened next?" the reporter asked.

She blinked thrice before she was able to continue her tale. "The tall man…he…he threw them out of the opening in the side of the plane while we were inflight."

#

Augustus' didn't need to use his enhanced hearing to hear a few of the students' gasps. Yet, he was surprised when he felt Amara and Tabitha reach out to comfort him.

#

"When you saw what the tall man had done, were you frightened?"

The flight attendant shook her head vigorously. "Not one bit. Those terrorists had killed several members of my crew without any hint of mercy. They were going to crash our plane and kill everyone on board and a lot of people on the ground. Those two costumed men saved our aircraft and our passengers. If it weren't for Icon and Wolverine, I would never have seen my family again. Wherever those two men are, I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for what they've done!"

When the film flashed off, the live shot of the reporter had returned to the screen. "Who are Icon and Wolverine? We asked the White House and was told that their true identities and their activities were highly classified. However, several confidential sources have told us that they were responsible for recovering Captain America from the Arctic a month ago."

#

"Typical government B.S.," Logan grumbled from his seat.

Augustus simply nodded in agreement with his friend. In reality, Logan had asked if the Cooperative technology on his starship could help save Captain America after years of cryogenic suspension to keep the man alive after the super soldier serum had disrupted the man's DNA. After consulting with Miriam, Augustus was able to reprogram the ship's lifeboat's genetic reconfiguration process to cure Steve Rogers' condition. Once they'd saved the man, Nick Fury, the Director of SHIELD, was ecstatic. Fury then persuaded Rogers to take over the Avengers after he crafted the Arctic recovery cover story.

It was then that a grateful Steve Rogers had thanked both Icon and his old comrade James Logan Howlett for saving his life. Moments later, a shockingly emotional Wolverine told Augustus he always had a friend in Logan for what he'd done on behalf of Rogers. Then the three men agreed that 'Gus' and Steve would be the only people Logan would allow to refer to him as 'Jim.'

#

"In any event," the reporter concluded, "America is thankful that two enhanced humans were able to stop one of the hijacked planes on that fateful day. Tom, back to you."

"Thank you, Brian. Next, we turn to the other plane that did not strike its target but was lost when her brave passengers struggled to recapture the plane from the hijackers and the hijackers crashed the plane out of spite."

#

His eyes were closed in shame and his head hung low during most of that damning report. His failure to rescue the innocent people on that flight still haunted him. Then to Augustus' surprise, Tabitha and Amara gently placed their hands on each of his shoulders, plainly expressing their compassion for his plight. At that moment, he gave each girl a sad smile and quietly thanked them.

#

After that last report, another commentator told of the tales of heroism in New York City among her first responders and stories of how some of the enhanced beings assisted in rescue and recovery efforts. The darker side of this story, though, was how some people, even now, were still angry that the superheroes had failed to do anything to stop the planes from crashing into the twin towers.

"One of the lighter moments," the commentator said, "occurred the following day during a press conference with the Avengers. A reporter asked Captain America to reveal the identity of the regal-looking dark-skinned woman who worked with Thor, the Avenger from what many believe is another dimension, to generate rain showers that put out some of the fires and reduced the particulates in the air."

The image shifted to Steve Rogers in his uniform standing behind a podium.

"Her name is Storm," Rogers answered.

"She seems to have the same abilities as Thor. Is she related to the Asgardian, Captain?"

Rogers gave the reporter a sly smile. "Thor told me his family adopted her. So everyone should know that if you have a bone to pick with her, you'll have to answer to the big guy!"

#

"What?!" Ororo bellowed to the television screen.

#

After everyone in the drawing room had finished rolling on the floor and laughing out loud, Logan said, "Why, those two sons of a gun!" Then he turned and smirked at Augustus. "Gus, it looks like we're going to have to buy Cap and Nature Boy at least two rounds of drinks for making our day!"

Feeling a bit better about how the teen agers had taken the broadcast, Augustus said, "I'll cover the first; you take the second."

"You've got yourself a deal, bub!"

Ororo regarded both men with a pretty little pout and Augustus thought she looked absolutely adorable. "I am so pleased you two reprobates enjoyed Captain Rogers' little jest at my expense," she observed with a faux look of annoyance on her face.

Soon, the program ended and Xavier used the remote to switch off the television. "My students, I am certain that program raised many questions in your minds. I want you to know you may ask them now or come to me or any of your instructors at any point in time."

"I have a question, Professor," Scott said.

"Yes, Scott?"

"Why weren't the X-Men sent into the field to help at the World Trade Center?"

"Well," Xavier said, "I was afraid of exposing mutants to the world before it was ready to accept you, particularly in the chaotic situation presented to us on that terrible day. Even though, Magneto, my old friend who did much to restore my faith in him, and Storm had assisted our brave first responders, almost everyone had regarded Eric, Ororo, Augustus and Logan as enhanced individuals like the members of the Fantastic Four. Indeed, I believe the good captain's comments at the press conference went even further to show Ororo in a positive light."

 _Well,_ Augustus mused to himself, _given her goddess-like beauty, poise and grace, it would be difficult to make the woman look bad to anyone._

"I understand, Professor. Thank you."

"Any further questions?"

When no one spoke up, Xavier nodded. "Very well. You are all dismissed."

#

TBC

 **Thank you for choosing to read this story and for your reviews!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Note: the characters from the X-men:Evolution belong to Marvel Comics. The character of Icon belongs to DC Comics. My thanks go to the creators of Icon, the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only and no money shall be earned by the writer._

 **Chapter 3**

 **Skaer (Shard) Island**

 **Vestmann Island Chain, Southwest of Iceland**

 **October 3, 2001- 0621 GMT**

As the sun rose from behind the eastern edge of the small island, a flock of puffins took flight from their roosts in the cliffs high above the thin strip of beach far below. While the birds winged their way over the frigid water of the North Atlantic in search of food, an azure-skinned humanoid clad in tough but flexible battle armor strode carefully out of the pounding surf.

Once it was on dry land, the figure drew a sophisticated scanning device from its place on his utility belt before he crossed the pebble strewn beach to take cover beside the face of the cliff. He then stalked south for several hundred meters until the indicator on his device could move no further. Then he knelt behind several small boulders and spied his target.

There were a pair of massive doors cleverly camouflaged to appear as a part of the face of the cliff. The area in front of the doors had been dredged to a depth that allowed surface and submersible vessels access into the area behind the hidden doors.

He now switched off his scanning device and put it away. Moments later, he removed a communicator from his belt, switched it on and spoke into the transceiver. "This is November Alpha Zero Two calling Fleet HQ. Come in Fleet HQ."

 _"Fleet HQ to November Alpha Zero Two, over. Report, Zero Two."_

"I have acquired the target, Fleet HQ. There are camouflaged doors, massive in scale. They are closed at the moment. The unknowns have dredged the land in front of the doors to allow access to the sea for surface and submersible vessels."

 _"Lieutenant,"_ a new voice sounded over his communicator. _"The energy readings our scout vessel detected—they originate inside those doors?"_

"Your Majesty!" the startled officer exclaimed. "Sire…you honor me with your presence!"

His ruler's voice was serious in response _. "No, Lieutenant. I am honored by your courage and your selfless service to Atlantis. Pray continue with your report."_

"As you command, Sire. The anomalous energy readings do indeed originate from beyond the massive doors."

 _"Interesting. Shard Island is supposed to be uninhabited, a protected refuge for the animal and plant life that resides there according to the United Nations treaties signed by every nation on Earth. Lieutenant, you have done well. Return to Fleet HQ for debriefing. I shall pursue this matter further…personally."_

The young officer smirked at his Sire's remark. Apparently, the Sub-Mariner still possessed his wanderlust. Hopefully, when he traveled to the surface world and challenged the scum behind those doors, they would rue the day they had gained the attention of the Avenging Son! "Very good, my liege. November Alpha Zero Two over and out."

Minutes later, the Atlantean officer stealthily stole his way back into the cold waters of the North Atlantic. Then he dove and slowly accelerated to just under sixty knots as he swam toward the location of his undersea scout vessel.

#

 **Route 40 Rush Hour**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **October 3, 2001- 1631 EST**

Scott Summer's face still nursed a scowl after his encounter with Duncan Matthews fifteen minutes earlier. While his modified Shelby Cobra inched along in rush hour traffic with Kitty Pryde riding shotgun beside him and Kurt Wagner perched in the back seat, Scott continued to brood. The tall, lanky seventeen year old mutant who fired particle beams from both eyes was still angry at Jean's boyfriend.

He couldn't believe that his best friend, Jean Grey, the beautiful red haired mutant who was both telekinetic and telepathic, as well as his not-so-secret crush over the past few years, had decided to date the insufferable jerk. Duncan was the first string quarterback on Bayville High's varsity football team. He'd always been a stuck-up, Mister-Big-Man-On-Campus like most of the popular kids, which at times, unfortunately, included Jean.

Still, he couldn't believe that a girl as sweet as her would have anything to do with Matthews. The guy was just an arrogant bully.

Then Scott's lips thinned into a hard line when his inner voice chided him, _"just like you were to Jean after you'd gone through Magneto's genetic enhancer, Slim."_

Last spring, Jean and he had been moving toward a romantic relationship when he'd found his lost brother, Alex. Then Alex and he had been conned by the evil mutant, Magneto, into allowing their powers to be augmented at the cost of falling under Magneto's control. It had gotten so bad that the brothers had nearly killed most of the X-Men.

Jean had been shaken by his aggressive nature while he'd been under Magneto's influence and hadn't looked at him the same way ever since. She'd definitely grown more distant toward him, and, if he was honest with himself, he completely understood her reasons, considering how much of a total tool he'd been to her and the Professor on that terrible day.

"Scott! Hello!"

The short, pretty girl sitting beside him forced her way into his thoughts then. Kitty Pryde, her brown hair in a cute pony tail that complimented her adorable button nose, possessed the mutant power of intangibility. She could phase herself or anything she touched through solid objects as if she was a ghost.

"Huh?"

She smirked at him as he tried to focus his attention on her.

"Yo, dude," Kurt, a sixteen year old boy from Germany observed, "you seemed like you were a million miles away. What gives?"

Although Kurt appeared to most people as a 'normal' boy with fairly long raven hair due to the image inducer created by Professor Xavier, in reality, he looked more like a dark elf from Norse legends. His hands possessed only three fingers each, his feet had three toes each, and he had a prehensile forked tail. His mutant abilities were incredible agility and teleportation of himself and another passenger for short distances.

Then, before Scott could respond to either of his friends, a brown sedan rushed up to his rear bumper while its driver continuously beeped the car's horn at him.

"Woah!"

Scott jerked the steering wheel to his right and managed to slide his car out of the way of the madman behind him. As the sedan sped past him, they all saw several police cars following it in hot pursuit with their sirens blaring.

"What's his hurry?" Kurt wondered.

"I don't know," Kitty replied. "Maybe it's the twelve police cars on his tail. It's just a hunch," she added with a sarcastic smirk on her face.

Moments later, the sedan barreled through an intersection near the entrance to the expressway overpass, cutting off a school bus full of children. The bus skidded to a stop, barely avoiding a collision with on-coming traffic and one of the overpass support columns. While the stalled bus had cut off the police cars that had been pursuing the sedan, the fleeing vehicle screeched onto the on-ramp and entered the expressway. However, a pair of police cruisers had managed to crossover the highway median and blocked the lane right in front of the sedan. Swerving to avoid the cruisers, the car skidded out of control and smashed through the guard rail of the overpass directly above the hapless school bus.

While the stricken vehicle teetered on the edge of the road, Scott gasped. "Oh, no!" Then he switched off the motor of his car and leaped out onto the roadway along with his two companions. Suddenly, the sedan began to slide over the edge of the overpass, endangering the children below. In response, Kurt sprinted forward, only to be brought up short by Scott's outspread arms.

"We've got to do something!" the German snapped.

"No! There's too many news cameras!" Scott exclaimed.

"But what about those kids on the bus?!" Kitty shouted.

When the rear tires of the car had fallen over the edge, they knew they had to do whatever it took to save those kids, no matter the cost!

"Kurt!" Scott yelled.

"I'm on it," the other boy said. He vanished from the road and reappeared inside the cabin of the falling vehicle. Quickly, he grabbed the driver and teleported the both of them to the underside of the overpass near the center support column, fortunately out of everyone's sight.

Meanwhile, Scott lowered his ruby crystal eyeglasses and fired crimson beams of pure force into the roof of the falling vehicle. His aim was true and his optic beams struck the vehicle so hard, they diverted the car away from the bus to smash into one of the concrete support columns before the wrecked vehicle slid down the concrete and came to rest on its side in the center median.

A second or so after the car had landed on the road, Kurt shoved the still shaken driver out into the open where the police apprehended the man. While everyone's attention was on the police as they handcuffed the suspect, Kurt spied where Scott and Kitty were standing next to a storefront. He teleported once more and returned to Kitty's side. Then while all eyes were still focused on the drama happening near the school bus, Kitty grabbed each boy by their forearm and phased them and herself through the shop's plate glass window right before a TV news crew raced around the corner where the trio had been standing.

#

 **Avengers Mansion**

 **New York, NY**

 **1645 EST**

Namor the First, the Sub-Mariner, the Avenging Son, Lord of the Seven Seas, and the Scion of the Deep had flown above the clouds, unseen, until he was directly over the Avengers' abode. Now he rapidly descended and touched down on the circular driveway inside the gated property. After allowing his person to be scanned and identified by the surface-dwellers security system, he strode purposefully toward the building's front door. He rang the doorbell and moments later, a brunette woman in her late twenties with both the build and the face of a fashion model answered the door.

"Your Highness," she said respectfully, "Welcome to our home."

He graced her with his most charming smile. "Hail and well met, Ms. Van Dyne. I have come to speak to Steven Rogers."

"Please come inside, your Highness. I shall tell Captain America that you are here."

He thanked the lady and she gave him an appraising look that would have made him blush if he were a lesser man. When she strode out of the foyer into the mansion proper, he couldn't help but admire the motion of her feminine curves inside her haute couture dress. The Van Dyne woman was very lovely even though she could not quite hold a candle to his dear Susan. Then he chastised himself for allowing his thoughts to go down that road again. Attempting to court a surface-dweller woman would only lead to trouble if his subjects ever got wind of it.

Soon, he heard the friendly voice of his old comrade-in-arms call out to him. "Namor McKenzie, as I live and breathe! You're certainly a sight for sore eyes!"

Normally a stoic man, even he felt the sting of tears in his eyes at the sight of Captain America. Although Namor had warily come to terms with his nemesis, the first Human Torch after they had joined Rogers and Howlett on the Invaders during World War II and had enjoyed his mock love/hate relationship with Logan, he and Rogers had always had a deep and respectful relationship, almost as close as brothers.

"Steven!" He exclaimed as he strode toward the other man and enclosed him within his arms in in a manly embrace.

Moments later, the Sub-Mariner released his old friend and took a good look at him. "Are you feeling well?"

"I feel great! And I owe it all to Jim and his friend, Gus. I would still be on 'ice,' if you know what I mean, if it weren't for those two sons of a gun!"

"Excuse me, my friend, I must not have heard you correctly," he teased. "Are you telling me that James Logan Howlett, the 'barbarian,' was partly responsible for your recovery?"

Rogers chuckled at his friend's antics. "Do you mean to tell me that you jokers still have that fake 'love-hate' relationship going after all these years?"

"Please," Namor scoffed. "I neither love nor hate the man. I simply tolerate him…barely."

Rogers smirked at him and Namor sighed. They both knew he'd always respected their old comrade-in-arms. Back then Logan was their infiltration expert who'd used both his acute senses and his retractable bone claws in their battle against the Axis. However, years after World War II, some rogue government agency had gotten their hands on the ageless mutant and tried to make him into Weapon X by infusing Logan's skeletal structure with molten adamantium and erasing most of his memory. Namor could not imagine the excruciating pain his old comrade must have endured when those devils had violated him in such a despicable way.

Now he peered at Captain America, one of the few surface-dwellers, other than Logan, who he trusted with his life. "Where is that old reprobate now? Also, tell me more about this 'Gus' fellow."

"Well, Jim is one of the instructors at Xavier's Institute for the Gifted, along with his friend, Augustus Freeman."

"Xavier…is he not the learned man who is an expert on human mutation?"

Rogers nodded. "Yes, that's the guy. Anyway, Gus is an alien who landed on a different Earth almost two hundred years ago. His lifeboat, which was the device that restored me to health, reconfigured his DNA and made him into a Negro infant so he'd fit in with the slave woman who'd found him. Once he'd reached manhood, he fought in the American Civil War and both World Wars. Two months ago, he was traveling from his homeworld back to his Earth when an accident sent him to our universe with no way home. A month ago, he and Jim boarded one of the airliners that the terrorists had taken on September 11th and stopped them from striking one of the government buildings in Washington, D.C. with it."

Namor frowned. "I grieve with you and your countrymen for the damage done to your great city on that terrible day. However, my heart is gladdened by the fact that our fellow Invader still fights the good fight."

"Yep. He and Gus are great guys."

"You seem quite impressed with this alien."

Rogers gave him a serious look. "Namor, in my book, he's as good a man as you or Jim."

"If you vouch for him, Steven, I shall approach him with an open mind, particularly if he can assist me in a small matter."

Captain America laughed. "I can't wait to hear this."

"Very well. There is a small island chain off the southwest coast of Iceland. One of the islands in that chain has what appears to be a hidden base operating there. This base appears to be drawing a significant quantity of cosmic radiation from the heavens for purposes unknown. My intelligence operatives have determined that this base is not under the control or sanction of any government. It is very troubling due to the fact that its location near the northern borders of Atlantis could pose a threat to the kingdom."

"I see."

"I propose that we reconstitute the Invaders once more to infiltrate this hidden base, find out what is going on, and terminate it, with prejudice, if necessary, to protect the interests of both of our nations."

Rogers rubbed his chin, apparently deep in thought. Then he nodded to his old friend. "All right. I'm in. Let's go and ask Jim if he'd like to join the party. I would also recommend bringing Gus along. He's probably as strong as you, flies really fast and has energy projection abilities. I think he'd be a good man to have with us just in case things go south."

"I shall take your recommendation under advisement and act upon it one way or another after meeting him."

"Fair enough. However, he does have access to some amazing alien technology. Maybe he has something that can help us with this mission."

"Perhaps. It is an avenue we should explore at the proper time."

"Fine then. Shall we go?"

"Yes. Allow me to fly us there, Steven. It would be faster and more surreptitious to go by air rather than to travel by automobile and risk being followed."

"I agree, Namor." Then Rogers pulled his cowl over his head and threaded his arms through the straps of his shield so the disk rested on his back. "Let's go, McKenzie!"

#

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **1730 EST**

Logan, Augustus and Charles stared down at the grounds from Charles' second story office window. The men were smiling at the spirited antics of the New Mutants while the children were playing and using their powers outside.

"Chuck," Logan said. "Even with the welcome addition of Gus here, I still think we need another instructor to join us…as well as a couple of Abrams tanks while we're at it."

The men chuckled at Logan's half-serious suggestion right before the lovely Ororo Munroe gracefully strolled into the Professor's office. She shot a warm smile Freeman's way before she turned toward Xavier and said, "Charles…excuse me but I think you may find this to be quite…interesting.'

She picked up the remote for the flat screen television from Charles' desk and turned on the set. Soon, one of the local news anchors flashed onto the screen. _"Eyewitness accounts are conflicting…"_ she reported as the image shifted to show a brown sedan teetering on the edge of a highway overpass above a school bus on the road below. _"But all agree that the falling car was somehow deflected away from the bus by this strange red flash,"_ she explained as a crimson bolt of energy shoved the car into a concrete column a safe distance away from the bus. _"Its source is still a mystery,"_ she concluded.

The Professor simply glared at the screen and uttered a single word.

"Scott."

#

After Scott had parked his car in front of the Institute's front door and they had exited the vehicle, Kurt said, "Uh…maybe we'd better not mention what happened to anyone…you think?"

"Well," Kitty replied, "we could just keep quiet about it for a while, like, say forever?"

Then when she saw the Professor, Ms. Munroe, Mr. Logan and Mr. Freeman waiting for them in front of the entrance into the mansion with grim expressions on their faces, she knew they'd been busted.

"Or," she added, "We could blame it all on Kurt."

"Hey!" he exclaimed, plainly stunned that she was more than willing to throw him under the proverbial bus so to speak.

However, before the adults could snap at them, something appeared to draw the instructors' attention up toward the sky above everyone's heads.

Logan growled. "McKenzie…Cap? What in blazes are you two doing here?"

"I see that your manners haven't improved with time, Logan," the Sub-Mariner observed. "Nevertheless, Captain America and I, as loathe as I am to admit this, have come to you seeking your help. I would also like to meet your friend, Augustus Freeman, to determine if he is willing and able to work with the Invaders for a short term mission."

Logan nodded. "Okay, Fishman. Why don't you stop flitting around like Peter Pan, come inside and we'll talk."

"Very well," Namor said as he landed, sounding as if he was annoyed to be in Logan's presence.

Meanwhile, Captain America simply chuckled and said, "Now, you boys had better behave. I don't want you to set any bad examples for these kids, you hear?"

As Logan, Captain America, Namor, Mr. Freeman and Ms. Munroe strode into the mansion, the Professor shot a hard look at the three teens. "Scott, Kitty, Kurt, would you accompany me to my office, please?"

"Yes, Professor," they muttered simultaneously and followed behind his wheelchair as if they were being marched off to their firing squad.

#

TBC

 **Thank you for choosing to read this story and for your reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

_Note: the characters from the X-men:Evolution and Marvel Comics belong to Marvel Comics. The character of Icon belongs to DC Comics. My thanks go to the creators of Icon, the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only and no money shall be earned by the writer._

 **Chapter 4**

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **1740 EST**

Logan led their two distinguished guests to the drawing room. He then closed the sliding oak doors behind them. "All right, guys, you've got the floor."

"Barbarian," Namor sniffed. "I suppose it is asking too much for you to introduce your companions to me?"

Logan grunted. "Didn't think I needed to, Fishy, considering their faces were plastered all over the news channels on September 11th."

"I am afraid I do not have the time to spare on the drivel produced by your media outlets," the Sub-Mariner drawled. "However, I must admit I could never forget the face of the lovely woman who had assisted the Asgardian with the rains used to drown the raging fires in Manhattan. My lady," he said to Ororo, "I am honored to be in your presence. I am Namor the First, the Sovereign of Atlantis."

After Namor had planted a gallant kiss on the back of her right hand, Freeman narrowed his eyes at the undersea king.

She nodded and graced the Sub-Mariner with a beautiful smile. "Greetings, your Highness. I am Ororo Munroe."

"Hail and well met, Ms. Munroe. Now, tell me, are you also an Asgardian, kin to the Thunderer?"

She shook her head and shot a perturbed look at Captain America. "I am not, your Highness. I am a mutant like you despite what Captain Rogers may have told the media."

Steve winced. "Sorry about that, ma'am. Logan told me it would be best to go with that cover story rather than disclosing that you are a mutant to the world at large."

"I understand, Captain. I was merely teasing you."

"That's good to know, ma'am. I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of a woman who can call down a lightning bolt on the top of my head when she sets her mind to it!"

They all laughed at Rogers' joke before Logan said, "Namor, let me introduce you to a straight-up guy," he pointed to Icon, "Augustus Freeman. Gus…well he ain't from around here. An accident in space brought him from his universe to ours and his ship and he are stuck here with no way back home."

"Greetings, Freeman. I am sorry that an accident brought you here unwillingly."

"Thank you, your Highness and greetings to you, as well."

"You should know that Steven has told me you also fought against the Axis Powers on your Earth during the War."

"Yes. I worked with the O.S.S. as a commando. That allowed me to use my enhanced abilities to help defeat the Axis forces."

"That is good to hear. However, given your appearance as a man of African descent, were you not troubled by working with those who had not considered you their equal?"

"Prejudice and injustice always troubles me, your Highness. Yet, I had to place all of that aside to battle those who sought to commit genocide on a global scale and enslave those who merely desired to remain free."

The Sub-Mariner eyed Icon for several moments in silence before he said, "Well said, Augustus Freeman. Now allow me to tell you all about a troubling matter that has come to my attention."

After he had told them the tale he'd relayed to Rogers at the Avengers Mansion, Logan grunted. "So…we need to infiltrate the base, figure out who's running it and what they're doing there, and take it out if they're not on the up and up?"

"That sounds about right, Jim," Rogers affirmed.

"What do you think, Gus?"

He shrugged. "A hidden facility that is unaffiliated with any national government and harvesting cosmic energy on a massive scale? I must say I am troubled by the situation, as well, and would be happy to go with you on this mission."

"What about me, gentlemen?" Ororo asked.

Logan shook his head. "Darlin', we've all had the training and the experience from the War to handle missions like this. Besides, we need you to stay here and keep Chuck and the kids safe."

Although it was plain from the expression on her face that Ororo wasn't thrilled by the idea of being left behind, she nodded gracefully.

"Jim," Icon said, "if we're going to infiltrate a facility and determine what is going on there, I believe it would be prudent to take Shadowcat and Rogue on this mission with us. Shadowcat's phasing powers will be critical to the success of the mission while Rogue's powers can help us extract information from the appropriate targets on site."

Logan stroked his chin, deep in thought. Then he looked up at his fellow instructor. "I'm not crazy about the idea of dragging Stripes and Half Pint with us but I can't fault your logic, bub. So long as one of us is always with 'em then it probably wouldn't be too dangerous for them. I'll run it by Chuck and see if he's okay with it."

He closed his eyes, apparently reaching out to Xavier's powerful mind. After a minute or so, his eyes flashed open. "Chuck's okay with it as long as we do our best to protect the rugrats. He told me he will send for them to join us here."

"I am uncertain about having children accompany us on this mission, Barbarian. They may not be up to the task," Namor said.

"Hey, bub! I've trained these kids and they're damn good. Besides, working with Toro and Barnes during the War didn't appear to trouble you too much, McKenzie!"

At the troubled grimace on Roger's face, a somber Logan shook his head sullenly. "Damn it, Steve. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have shot my mouth off like that."

Rogers simply reached out and gently grasped Logan's shoulder with his right hand. "There's no need for an apology, Jim. Bucky and Toro…they were the best of the best. They were good soldiers."

Then Captain America's eyes peered down at the floor, his voice much softer now. "Good soldiers."

Namor blinked several times as if he were trying to hold back his tears. "Indeed, they were. Logan," he said, turning to the X-Man. "If your charges are as valiant as Barnes and Toro, any objections I had are withdrawn."

"They're X-Men, Namor. They're prepared to do anything to protect mutants and humans in a world where most people would imprison or kill them simply because they're a little different."

The Sub-Mariner stared at his old comrade with respect in his eyes. "I would be honored to associate with your young heroes without any reservations, my old comrade."

#

 **Professor Xavier's Office**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **1750 EST**

After the professor had released Kitty and Kurt, Scott had remained behind to continue the discussion about the use of their powers on the streets of Bayville.

"Look, Professor, the thing that really gets me is that I hesitated. I was so worried about anyone seeing us that we almost failed to act in time to save those kids on that school bus. And why? I mean helping others and saving lives just like Icon and Wolverine had on September 11th should be the reason we use our powers!"

"Scott, I know this is a confusing issue for you and the others. Yes, helping others is the right thing to do but we must also try to remain anonymous, at least, for the present."

The young man still wasn't buying it. "It's like we're hiding in shame for no reason. The world didn't get bent out of shape when Wolverine, Storm, Icon and Magneto exposed themselves during the terror attacks. What's the harm in letting people find out about the rest of us?"

Xavier shook his head resolutely. "No, Scott. Even now, there are a lot of people who believe that African Americans and other minority groups shouldn't be afforded basic civil rights. And these disadvantaged people are no different genetically than the majority population of their various nations, yet they are treated poorly at times. Now imagine how the people who look down on minority groups would come to view mutants. They simply would be unable to accept that we walk the Earth among them. Now, fortunately, even with our friends' selfless actions a month ago, most people are either happy they helped out where they could or angry at them for failing to prevent the attacks in the first place. Regardless, they're not really interested in looking closely at Ororo, Logan and Erik, preferring, for the moment, to lump them with the rest of the enhanced humans of New York City."

Now, the Professor sighed. "Look, Scott, I'm not blaming you for what you did today. In fact, I'd have done the same thing in your place. I'm just saying, you need to do what you can without revealing what you are."

Scott narrowed his eyes at the man behind his spectacles. Normally, the Professor was an eloquent man. However, what he'd just said, 'what you are' rather than ' _who_ you are' kind of frosted the boy's shorts. He turned away and took two steps toward the door. Then he stopped and glanced at Xavier over his left shoulder. "I don't know, Professor. I'm having a hard time with this one," he admitted before he turned away and strode out of the office into the hallway.

#

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **Icon's Starship inside Its Hangar under the Swimming Pool**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **1801 EST**

Namor was still a bit shaken after the starship had transported the six of them into this alien room while leaving the attractive Ms. Munroe behind in the mansion's drawing room. "What is this place?"

"It is the conference room aboard my personal starship, your Highness."

"Please, Augustus. You are an Invader now, one of us. Call me Namor or McKenzie."

"Very well, Namor. In the interests of protecting James', Kathryn's, and my secret identities during missions, please call him, Wolverine, her, Shadowcat and me, Icon."

"I shall endeavor to do so, my friend," the King of the Seven Seas agreed magnanimously.

"Thank you. Now I shall task my ship to scan the hidden base you discovered and have it show us its layout via the conference room's holographic projector." Then he spoke to his sentient A.I. "Miriam: commence a scan of Shard Island in the Vestmann Island chain. Show us any and all underground or security installations, please."

Before anyone could draw another breath, the ship provided a holographic image showing a massive base constructed inside the cliffs that took up almost half of the small island. "Is that the facility?" Namor asked.

"Yes," Icon said. He studied the base's layout for several moments before he spoke again. "Look at the two rooms on either side of the causeway leading into the vehicle bay. See all of those flashing blue lights?"

"Yeah," Logan said. "The rooms look like armories to me."

"Most likely because the scans show they're filled with robots that have very powerful energy signatures. I would assume they're combat robots based on these readings. However, we should have a much clearer picture on them once the ship is close enough to conduct a short range scan of the facility."

Now Shadowcat moved one step closer toward the projection. "This section here," she pointed to it. "Like, I think that's where they keep their servers."

"True," Icon agreed. "Across the hall from that room, the scans show there are several well-equipped laboratories, as well."

"So," Rogue noted, "the vehicle bay is on the top level while the labs and servers are two levels down. What do y'all think they use the level above that for?"

"I would say they are living quarters, young lady," Namor observed.

"Well that's just fahne and dandy," the girl announced in her distinctive southern drawl. Rogue was a thin, sixteen-year old with a head of beautiful auburn hair except for the two distinctive white tresses that framed both sides of her lovely face. She was a few inches taller than her friend and roommate, Kitty Pryde, and her youthful body had already begun its transformation toward maturity.

"Icon," Captain America now asked, "what's going on in that large room down the hall from the labs?"

"It appears that is where they're channeling the cosmic energy they have harvested. Fortunately, there is a portion of the room that appears to be a shielded observation area where their scientists can view their experiments in safety."

"Got it," the Captain said. "Shadowcat, you can use your powers to take down their entire computer system if it comes to that, right?"

"That's right, sir."

He smiled at her. "That's good to know. If we have to take down their entire operation in a hurry, it's nice to have you as our ace in the hole!"

As Kitty appeared to be pleased by the kind attention provided to her by the living legend, her roommate added, "Not that she'd toot her own horn or anythin', our little Kit is a mean computer hacker to boot!"

"Maybe so but don't let all the praise go to your head, Half Pint, or we might not have enough room on Icon's ship to carry all of us to the target!" Logan teased.

While Kitty shot the feral mutant a dirty look, Icon said to her roommate, "Your ability is also crucial to the success of mission, Rogue. You may be required to touch one of the personnel inside that base to obtain passwords and other critical intelligence."

"Ah won't let y'all down," she swore.

"Of that, young lady," Namor said with a rare smile on his handsome face, "I do not harbor any doubts whatsoever!"

"All right then," Captain America said and they all gave him their undivided attention. "We'll form two teams. Team One will be our infiltration team. Team Two will be our assault team. Team One will penetrate the facility undetected, gain access to the computer system, determine what they're doing in those labs, and discover what they're keeping behind the shields in the cosmic energy room. Team One will be comprised of Wolverine, the team leader, Shadowcat and Rogue. Team Two will be the rest of us. If Team One informs us the facility is engaged in nefarious operations that pose a significant risk to either Atlantis or America, Team Two will commence its assault inside the vehicle bay. Team Two shall inflict as much damage as possible and provide Team One enough of a distraction to continue its mission to obtain useful intelligence, and if possible, to wreck their thinking machines. However, if, at any time Wolverine believes it to be too dangerous for his team to continue its mission, he will order that his team be extracted immediately."

"That should not be a problem, Captain. The ship's transmat device shall lock on the signals of the communicators I will provide to everyone. If any of you get in trouble call Miriam and she will transport you back to the ship. Now, you all should maintain an open channel at all times. The communicators transmit through the sub space realm and are untraceable by any detection system on this planet."

"Thanks, Icon! I wish we had something like those gadgets for the Avengers!" the Captain exclaimed.

"I will see if I can fashion something for you, Captain; however, I will need to construct it in such a way that would keep your Anthony Stark or Henry Pym from trying to back engineer the devices. I wouldn't want to introduce any technology that could endanger your planet's natural course of development."

"Whatever you say, Gus." Then he returned to his mission briefing mode. "All right, everyone. Icon's ship will ferry us to the target. We should arrive at Zero hour Greenwich Mean Time. Once we're there, Team One will saddle up and be transported to an uninhabited area close to the room where they keep all of those thinking machines. Team One, get in that room, neutralize any personnel and security devices inside. Do not, though, I repeat, do not kill anyone to complete the mission."

Icon nodded. He was happy that Rogers had added that last proviso. From what Logan had told him about his time with the Invaders, Bucky Barnes, they're youngest member, had lied about his age to enter the Army in 1942. In fact, Barnes had been younger than Rogue and Kitty when he was taught to be a soldier even though his skill as a marksman had come to him long before he'd ever donned a uniform. However, what had never been disclosed to the public was the fact that Bucky had been the Invader's designated sniper and assassin. Although that war had taken Bucky's innocence early on, he knew that Logan and he never wanted either girl to become killers like the four men currently aboard his starship.

Now Captain America said, "I think we've covered all the bases. We have a few hours before we shove off. Get some chow then some rest. An hour before we go, I want us back aboard this ship so we can study any new scans provided by Miriam and adjust our plan accordingly. Then we'll walk through our mission objectives several times before we head out."

After the Captain had completed his briefing, Icon directed Miriam to beam them all back into the mansion's drawing room.

#

 **Skaer (Shard) Island**

 **Vestmann Island Chain, Southwest of Iceland**

 **October 4, 2001- 0002 GMT**

Inside a utility closet three X-Men shimmered into existence.

Wolverine raised the index finger of his right hand to his lips and gave his team members the universal sign for absolute silence. Then he took a moment to study Stripes' and Half Pint's faces. Although his acute sense of smell had detected the hint of fear from both girls, their fright was surprisingly superseded by the excitement they both felt. For one thing, this was really the first time they'd ever participated in a high stakes mission. Even cooler for their young sensibilities was the fact they were working alongside three living legends who'd fought and survived World War II, along with an alien who was one of the heroes who'd saved Washington, D.C. from terrorists on September 11th!

Wolverine simply sighed quietly to himself. Although he had a soft spot for both girls that he would never, ever admit to anyone even on his dying day (and that would probably be long after Rogue and Kitty had bought the farm after having full and happy lives) and did not want to see them come to any harm, he was actually glad to have them along.

Time after time, Rogue had proven she was a gutsy little spitfire. Even before she'd joined the team, Rogue had saved Scott from Mystique and had rescued Jeanie from Blob after that tub of lard had gone all stalker-boy on the young telepath. As for Half Pint, well…she'd risked her life to help him break the mind control of the creep who'd turned him into Weapon X.

Satisfied that he had, without a doubt in his mind, the bravest X-Men of the bunch at his side, he popped the middle claw of his right hand and crouched down close to the floor. Then he slowly bored a hole through the wall with it.

Once his claw had fashioned an opening, he withdrew the blade into his hand and snaked a cable with a small television camera on the tip through the hole. Once he'd positioned the device, they studied the small monitor that displayed the interior of the server room. They saw there was a single operator stationed at one of the monitors inside the room and no one else.

Wolverine nodded to both girls silently directing them to go to work.

#

Kitty took Rogue's gloved left hand into her right hand and phased them both through the wall while carefully avoiding any of the servers on the other side. While phased, the girls quietly crept up behind the operator whose attention was focused solely on the computer monitor in front of him. When they'd reached their goal, Kitty released her hold on Rogue. Now the green and black clad mutant who was no longer phased reached out with her gloveless right hand and touched the right side of the man's face.

Moments later, he seized up as she stole a minute portion of his life force and his short term memories. When he passed out, Rogue grabbed his clothed arm and gently lowered his unconscious body to the floor. Meanwhile, Kitty was busy dragging a chair over to the security camera positioned close to the ceiling on the far wall. Once the chair was in place, she stepped onto the seat and waved her phased hand through the device, shorting it out.

Then she climbed down from the chair and hurried back over to the wall next to the closet where Logan awaited her return. In the meantime, while her roommate phased through the wall to fetch the feral mutant, Rogue used her stolen knowledge to access the facility's computer system.

#

When Wolverine and Shadowcat had joined Rogue, he found the girl had managed to find a file with a fishbone diagram showing the objectives the facility's scientists had accomplished in route to the ultimate goal of one of the major projects of the organization the three X-Men now knew to be called the 'Enclave.' Then their eyes shot wide open with fright after they discovered exactly what the Enclave's 'ultimate goal' happened to be.

Now Wolverine growled lowly into his communicator and said, "Guys, we've got to destroy this entire base right damn now! These bastards are creating enhanced artificial humans! They're building a master race to serve in an army these wackos intend to use in trying to take over the whole damn world!"

#

TBC

 **Thank you for choosing to read this story and for your reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Note: the characters from the X-men:Evolution and Marvel Comics belong to Marvel Comics. The character of Icon belongs to DC Comics. My thanks go to the creators of Icon, the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only and no money shall be earned by the writer._

 **Chapter 5**

 **Shard Island**

 **Vehicle Bay, Primary Level**

 **0012 GMT**

A bright golden flash blinded the four on-duty guards who were stationed on the right side of the base's vehicle bay. Once the light had cleared, the men gasped when they sighted the Sub-Mariner, Captain America and Icon standing proudly on the deck.

Before the guards could even react, the super soldier hurled his mighty shield at the two guards standing to the Captain's right. The disk whirled through the air and rammed into one man's chest, ricocheted off of his body and struck another guard who stood nearby. Then the shield bounced once more off of the man who was dropping unconscious to the floor and returned to Sentinel of Freedom's outstretched hand.

Meanwhile, Icon struck down one of the other guards with a positron bolt of energy as Namor pounced on their remaining opponent, knocking him out with a crisp rabbit punch to the jaw.

Suddenly, the King of the Seven Seas glanced to and fro, awaiting the assault from the base's security forces. When there was no immediate response, he frowned. "I must say, I find this situation to be somewhat disappointing. Surely, they must be aware of our presence by now."

Icon said nothing. He simply turned to the closest armory room, lifted both of his arms, and fired far more powerful azure energy bolts through the access door into the room proper. Soon the deactivated robots inside that space began to shatter under the relentless force of his positron beams.

As a result, Captain America turned to the Sub-Mariner. "I bet that we've got their attention now."

#

 **Cosmic Radiation Observation Room, Level Two**

 **0013 GMG**

"This doesn't look good at all."

Dr. Carlo Zota, one of three of the scientific administrators who ran the Enclave's Beehive, was quite unhappy with the readings that his instruments had provided him. Apparently, their surgical procedure to assure their total control over the enhanced being they had created was degrading right before his very eyes. If it reached the point as it had when their first creation had rebelled and killed their colleague, Hamilton, their entire facility might be in jeopardy.

As he considered the possibility of destroying their new creature while it was undergoing its transformation inside its cocoon, one of the men in the control room called out to him through the intercom. _"Dr. Zota! We're under attack!"_

"Under attack? By whom?"

 _"I recognize two of the attackers, Doctor. The first is the Avenger, Captain America. The second is Icon, the man who fought the terrorists over Washington, D. C. The other is a muscular man in what appears to be scaled swimming trunks. He has winged feet like Mercury and pointed ears."_

"You fool! He's the Sub-Mariner! He's as dangerous as his comrades to our operations!""

 _"Doctor, they've already destroyed most of the deactivated security robots in Armory One!"_

"Idiot! Activate all of the security robots immediately and send them after those men. Also, while you're at it, send several of our rapid reaction teams with heavy arms into the bay and bring them down. Finally, sound the alarm. Send out patrols to sweep the base. We will probably find more of these cretins trying to infiltrate our facility. I am now leaving the observation room and en-route to the Command Center. Have both Dr. Shinski and Dr. Morlak meet me there. Zota, out."

#

 **Vehicle Bay, Primary Level**

 **0014 GMT**

When the doors for the three other armory rooms rapidly slid open, Captain America sighed. "Namor, you know that old saying, 'be careful what you wish for?' Well, I think it's reared its ugly head…in spades!"

As the mechanical monstrosities flowed out from the rooms into the causeway proper, the King of Atlantis smiled. "My friends, I have only two words to say at a time such as this."

Icon merely rolled his eyes and decided to put Captain America and himself out of their misery. "Tell me, Namor, what would those two words happen to be?"

"IMPERIUS REX!" the Sub-Mariner screamed as he launched himself headfirst into a column of robots.

With that, Icon took flight and began blasting robots with azure energy beams that shattered scores of the mechanical men while the super soldier flung his shield at a charging robot with enough velocity the disk's edge decapitated the creature.

Once his shield had returned to the Captain, he spied one of the robots aiming an energy blaster at Namor's unprotected back. Moving liked greased lightning, Rogers positioned his shield in front of him and slammed into the machine, throwing its aim off target when it fired the weapon.

Meanwhile, while the Sub-Mariner grappled with one of the robots, the machine tried to electrocute him. Gritting his teeth, Namor grunted, "Foul creature! Do you call that pitiful amount of voltage an electrical discharge?!" In response he channeled the electrical energy contained in his body into his opponent with such force that the machine overloaded and shorted out. As he tossed the dead robot aside, he drawled, "Now THAT was an electrical discharge!"

As Namor dispensed with his mechanical opponent, Icon noticed that several robots were firing energy blasters at Captain America. Fortunately, the old soldier was currently safe behind his vibranium shield.

"Captain!" he called out to his comrade. "Tip the bottom of your shield up toward the ceiling an inch or so." When Rogers had complied with his request, the former Hero of Dakota smiled. "Perfect!" he drawled as he fired two powerful positron energy bolts directly at the other man's shield. The energy beams struck the disk's star dead center and the shield reflected the energy across the bay to shatter the machines that had been assaulting the Sentinel of Freedom.

Captain America grinned and gave Icon a quick salute. "Nice shooting, buddy!" he exclaimed before he turned to another robot and smashed it down to the floor with his mighty shield.

Icon then landed behind Namor and snapped, "Back to back!"

"I understand!" the Sub-Mariner responded as he took up a position where the two heroes could cover each other. Then the Avenging Son slammed one of the hapless robots with a powerful haymaker that sent the battered machine flying into two of its compatriots, bowling them over. With a joyful grin on his face, he said, "Icon, it is quite a pity that Wolverine is missing out on the opportunity to participate in such a glorious battle."

"Indeed, it is a pity, Namor," he agreed while he generated a positron field around his fist and shattered another robot with a single powerful blow.

"Indeed it is."

#

Doctor Wladyslav Shinski, a member of the trio who led the Enclave, simply couldn't believe what he was seeing with his own eyes.

The combat robots that, for the most part, were scattered on the floor of the vehicle bay deck as pieces of scrap metal had been modeled after Doctor Doom's reportedly 'invincible' berserker robots. The Enclave had spent a billion dollars to have the Latveria Arms Manufacturing, Inc. construct the robots to their specifications. Yet, these…invaders… were taking the machines apart as if they were mischievous children shattering a closet full of Lego™ toys!

Painfully aware that after the cretins completed destroying the machines, they would come for the Command Center. So the shaken Enclave leader whirled on the communications officer and snapped, "Order the rapid reaction teams to take the fight to the intruders inside the vehicle bay. Tell them to show no mercy!"

#

 **Server Room, Level Two**

 **0018 GMT**

"Look," Shadowcat noted, "I think that guy like just left the observation room!"

The three mutants were using the little television on the flexible cable once again to spy on the man's approach. Wolverine had snaked the device through another hole he'd dug in the wall parallel to the hallway. The man appeared to be in a rush but was slowed by the walking cane that supported his weakened left leg. Despite the fact the balding man had long gray hair covering the sides of his head, he had a surprisingly muscular physique.

Wolverine shot an askew glance at Shadowcat and said, "I say we bring that fella in here and have Stripes work her magic on him. When I give the word, go through the wall, grab his arm and phase him back in here. I'll handle the rest."

"Okay," Shadowcat said. Then they waited a few moments as the man came closer.

"Now!" Wolverine snapped quietly.

Shadowcat moved like she'd never moved before. She passed through the wall into the hallway, solidified, and grabbed ahold of the startled man's right arm. Then she gave him a disarmingly winsome smile and chirped, "Hi!" Immediately thereafter, she anchored her feet, launched her right knee into the side of the man's right knee, causing him to buckle down in that direction. With his balance moving where she'd wanted him to go, she pulled him into a judo throw over her right leg toward the wall where she'd just emerged. As they both tumbled toward the wall, she phased them both through it.

When they stumbled into the room, the angry man demanded, "What is the mean—"

However, he was cut off by Wolverine's hard jab to his breadbasket.

As the man collapsed to his knees, the feral mutant growled. "I hope that hurt like hell, you psycho! Stripes…you're up!"

Immediately, Rogue stepped forward with an ungloved hand and slapped her palm right on top of the man's bald crown.

Once he'd passed out, the southern belle took a few moments to sift through his memories. Then she flashed open her eyes and shot a hard gaze at her two companions. "Logan! This guy, he's one of the head honchos!"

"Jackpot!" he exclaimed. "Tell us what you were able to get from him, kid."

"This yahoo's name is Carlo Zota. About five years ago, his partners, Shinski, Marlok, Hamilton and he constructed this place they call the Beehive. A year later, they created an artificial man to be the father of a new genetically perfect human race that would answer only to these nutjobs. However, when the artificial man discovered his creators' plans for world domination, he rebelled and nearly destroyed the whole place. Unfortunately, in the midst of the creature's rebellion, Hamilton was killed before the artificial man left the planet behind and fled into outer space."

Wolverine simply nodded but said nothing. He knew both girls had good hearts and would go all out to save the lives of even their worst enemies as Charles would want them to do. He, though, knew there were times when some people needed to be killed. So he wasn't about to shed any tears for the dead scientist.

"So, like, was that what we saw on that fishbone diagram? Their old project that went so very wrong?"

Rogue shook her head. "No, Kitty. These maniacs decided to try it again! They've created another genetically perfect being. This time, though, they tried to mess with its mind!" She was mad as hell about that. Although these psychos had tried to modify the creature's mind surgically, Rogue still was hurt by Mystique's attempts to mess with her own mind.

Then she smiled cruelly. "However, Ah don't think their tampering worked out. This guy was scared out of his mind because the artificial man's neural functions had rerouted around the tinkering they'd done."

"Rogue, are you telling us that…thing is operational!" Logan snapped.

"'Fraid so. Right now it's encased in some sort of protective cocoon it generated around itself on the cosmic ray side of the shield."

He paused for a moment to think. Then he glared at his two partners. "Great job, Rogue. You've done real good. You, too, Half Pint," he praised. "Now, listen up. Half Pint and I will go down the hall and phase into the observation room. Stripes, I want you to give a shout out to Miriam and have her transport you back to the ship." Then he turned to Shadowcat. "Half Pint, once we're inside the observation room, you are to leave me there and phase back out into the hall where you'll contact Miriam and have her beam you out, too."

"What are you planning to do in there, Mr. Logan?" the tiny girl asked.

"What I do best," he said cryptically.

"Are you crazy?" Rogue snapped. "If you go on the other side of that shield, the cosmic radiation, if you're lucky, will kill you. If your luck runs out, though, you might wish you were dead. Do you you want to turn into something maybe worse than the Thing?"

"I don't want you ladies to worry about me, ya hear? I've been in some tough spots before and always came out on top."

"Even so, we ain't about to leave you to face that thing alone, you stubborn old goat!"

He narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Well, Stripes, it ain't up to you now, is it!"

"Mr. Logan, we're X-Men," Kitty stated emphatically. "You've taught us we don't leave anyone behind!"

He sighed heavily. Served him right, he mused, that the kids had thrown that in his face. After all, he harped on it every time he put them through a Danger Room session. "Look, we're going to play this my way, all right?"

"Yeah, well, your way sucks!" Rogue snapped. "What happens if Kitty goes down after she phases you into the room? Who will be there to back her up if you're battling the creature?"

He simply stared at their little spitfire. Damn it, the girl had a good point. "Fine, kid. We'll all go. Once we make it inside, though, I want you and Half Pint to high tail it out of there and return to the ship. I'll find a way to get out of there once the job is done."

"Promise?" Kitty asked, her eyes apparently on the brink of tears and her mouth set in an adorable pout.

"Damn it, Half Pint! You always fight dirty!" he groused. Christ, the girl was the only one who always found a way to tug on his damn heart strings. In response, he ruffled her hair playfully for a few seconds before his mood turned serious once more.

"Let's go."

Moments later the trio phased through the wall into the hall and rushed toward the secured hatch that led into the observation room.

Now Shadowcat latched onto her partners' forearms and phased the three of them through the locked portal.

When they emerged on the other side, Rogue chanced a glance at the window that provided the view into the cosmic energy room.

She gasped.

The cocoon had been burst opened from the inside. Suddenly, a black form with a shimmering golden glow around it smashed Wolverine in the face with its fist. The thing hit Logan so hard that the feral mutant flew across the room to slam against the far wall.

Shadowcat reacted on instinct, phased through their attacker's body and raced to Logan's side.

Now the creature raised both of its arms and aimed its fists at Wolverine and Shadowcat. As golden energy began to form around its hands, Rogue acted. Heedless of her own safety and desperate to save her friends, she ripped off both gloves, launched herself onto the thing that stood as tall as Mr. Freeman, scrambled up its back onto its shoulders, clamped onto its face with both hands, and gritted her teeth while grunting, "Ah just know Ah'm gonna regret this!"

Suddenly, both Rogue and the creature howled from the contact and the sound was so terrifying to Shadowcat that her heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

#

 **Vehicle Bay, Primary Level**

 **0028 GMT**

Icon was annoyed.

After they'd destroyed all of the robots, the human security men had begun to fire their rifles at them.

He smirked. One would have thought, he mused to himself, once the guards had realized how ineffective their weapons were against them, the idiots would have surrendered by now. Even though some of the rounds were high powered, his new and improved body armor had been up to the task.

Shortly after they'd arrived on this Earth, Miriam had scanned and hacked Anthony Stark's quaint computer system where she'd uncovered the secret of the Iron Man armor matrix. After studying it, she employed Stark's micromesh weave with the stronger Cooperative non-magnetic metal alloys. Now, even though his armor was as flexible as the older version of it, the new armor was tough enough to protect him from penetration even by Wolverine's claws.

 _"Icon! This is Shadowcat!"_

He detected the fear in his charge's voice. "Icon here, Shadowcat."

 _"You've got to come right now! The artificial being took down Wolverine! Rogue tried to drain it but something's wrong! They both may be dyin—Oh my God!"_ she screamed ** _._**

"I'll be right there! Hold on!" he snapped. Then he quickly turned to Captain America and announced, "Team One is in trouble! They need my help!"

"Go! Do whatever it takes to save those kids, you hear?"

Icon nodded and called out to Miriam over his communicator. "Miriam: transport me immediately to Team One's current location!"

 _"Acknowledged, Arnus,"_ his A.I. said as the golden glow of the transmat beam swept him away.

#

Unlike most superheroes, Icon was not a hyper-aggressive individual. He was generally a man of peace which was unsurprising since he'd been a mediator and an attorney for most of his lifetime.

However, when he materialized at Team One's location, he fought his inclination to attack the being who currently held a senseless Rogue in its arms, mainly because he didn't want to do anything to harm one of his favorite students.

"Oh my God!" Kitty gasped from behind him. "Who…who are you?" she asked the creature.

He studied the being who seemed to be lovingly cradling his fallen student. She was as tall as he was, beautiful with a muscular physique and an impressive bust line that were the pinnacles of both feminine power and grace. Her face shared similarities with Rogue's, though, it was a mature, more glamorous version of the girl's. The blonde Amazonian goddess possessed a pair of white, pupil-less eyes and was garbed in something that looked like a red one-piece bathing suit with panels missing from its back and sides. Finally her outfit included metallic bracelets, boots and a choker that matched the golden hue of her skin.

"I-Icon…"

He was startled to see that Rogue's dazed gaze now regarded him.

"Yes, Rogue?"

"D-don't hurt her…please?" the girl struggled to get out before she closed her eyes once more.

Then the woman spoke.

He imagined that the sound of her voice was what he'd hear if a choir of angels sang to him. **"Augustus Freeman, Kathryn Pryde, James Logan Howlett, I have no desire to engage in further combat with any of you in deference to my sister despite the fact you intended to violently terminate my existence, James Logan Howlett,"** she added with a scowl on her lovely face.

"Hopefully, that bodes well for us," Icon stated cautiously. "What is your name?"

 **"You may call me…Ayesha."**

He quirked his right eyebrow to the ceiling at that. "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed from H. Rider Haggard's immortal novel, She?"

The goddess nodded **. "Yes, it is the name given to me by my dear sister, Anna Marie."**

"Who in blazes is Anna Marie?" a barely recovered Logan asked.

 **"She who is protected within my arms; the one you know as Rogue."**

A smirk crossed Kitty's face then. "Her real name is 'Anna Marie?!' Like, wow! Thanks for handing me some awesome blackmail material on a silver platter, lady!"

"Pipe down, Half Pint," Logan grumbled.

Icon fought the urge to smirk at Shadowcat's and Wolverine's antics while he speculated that Rogue's love for English Literature had provided the golden woman with her _nom de plume_. "Ayesha, why do you refer to Anna Marie as your sister?"

 **"When she attempted to absorb my powers, I absorbed aspects from her, as well. Her brain patterns stabilized my neural impulses and granted me enlightenment regarding the plans my creators had for me. Then I drew upon her structure to fashion the form you see before you."**

"What!? You mean to tell me that she's gonna look like you when she grows up? Man, like, life's not fair!"

The woman chuckled. **"I simply used her frame as a pattern to become female, Kathryn. I doubt my sister will mature to appear exactly as I am now because the mass of my body is much higher than either your roommate's or your bodies."**

"Ayesha," Icon asked, "as you have just said, Rogue is a member of our family and we are very concerned about her. Can you tell us if she is injured in any way?"

 **"Fear not, Augustus Freeman. She is merely fatigued from the process where we momentarily joined minds. As my thanks to her for her generosity I have granted her several…gifts."**

"Gifts, you say? Can you speak more on that, please?"

 **"She now has absolute mastery over her mutant ability. No longer will accidental contact with her epidermis absorb anyone's life force, memories or powers. Moreover, she will gain many of the abilities I possess in short order."**

"Do you mean the abilities your creators gave you to try and take over the world?" Wolverine pressed.

 **"Indeed, James Logan Howlett. Therefore, those evil men must be stopped. My sister's mind showed me how some humans in your recent past had claimed to be members of a master race. They destroyed the lives and property of hundreds of millions of people. She also showed me the one you call Magneto, a madman who desires to subjugate those who simply do not possess the X-gene based on his trauma he had suffered during his childhood. These examples almost forced me to conclude there was no hope for either of your species until I witnessed Anna Marie's willingness to sacrifice herself to save Kathryn and you, James Logan Howlett. She is among the best of you."**

"You'll get no argument from me on that, darlin'," Wolverine said.

 **"That is good, James Logan Howlett. At least you have demonstrated a modicum of wisdom in this single instance. Perhaps there is hope for you yet."**

Wolverine chuckled. "Man…that almost felt like one of McKenzie's barbs, lady. That nearly stung me to the quick," he drawled.

She flashed a glorious smile at both men that stole their breaths away. Then her face turned as serious as a storm cloud.

 **"Now, take my sister and go, Augustus Freeman. I must destroy this facility and all of the evil men associated with it to ensure they can never succeed in their plans for world domination."**

"Ayesha, I agree the facility should be destroyed," he argued. "However, I ask you to spare their lives. We have a colleague who can erase the information they now possess from their minds. Then we shall turn these men over to the proper authorities to face justice and be held accountable for their actions. Hopefully, they will realize the folly of their actions and be rehabilitated. If not, they shall remain in incarceration for an appropriate period of time. Ayesha, everyone should be provided the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Do not rob them of that opportunity."

She stared at him with her white eyes for several moments before she nodded. **"Very well, Augustus Freeman. Take my creators to Charles Xavier and have their knowledge about my predecessor and I erased from their memories. You may also turn over their minions to the authorities. Tell the evil doers they have only thirty minutes to evacuate this facility and gather on the beach under the cliffs. After that, I shall destroy everything inside this base."**

When the girl who was cradled in the golden woman's arms stirred once more, the Amazonian goddess smiled down upon her.

"Ayesha?" Rogue whispered.

 **"Hello, sister,"** the woman said with a warm smile. " **I must go now. Take care. I shall see you again one day."**

The woman then gently reached out and handed Rogue to Icon.

As she turned to leave, he called out to the woman. "Ayesha, if you wish, we would be happy to have you join us at our Institute."

She glanced over her right shoulder and gave him a sad smile. **"I appreciate your offer, Augustus Freeman. However, my destiny lies among the stars alongside my predecessor. I shall search for him in the hopes of bearing our children and finding a world where we can live together in peace. Know this, though, before I depart from this place. In time, we shall return and come together in fellowship with my sister…and her family."**

Then she turned back to face the shield, took flight and phased through the barrier as if it were the morning mist.

#

 **Icon's Starship**

 **Under Cloak and Hovering close to Shard Island**

 **0111 GMT**

"Well…Miriam's scanners show the entire facility has been converted into granite and serpentine stone, including the doors in front of the former vehicle bay. It is almost as if an underground base had never existed."

The starship had remained on station awaiting the arrival of Nick Fury's forces from SHIELD to pick up the Enclave's minions. Meanwhile Zota, Shinsky and Morlak were imprisoned behind force fields in the ship's hold for transport to the Institute. At the moment, Wolverine and Rogue were being examined by Miriam in the med bay. Everyone else was together inside the ship's conference room.

"Augustus," Namor asked, "do you believe letting the golden woman go free was the best course of action for us to take?"

"I do. In truth, given her abilities, I am uncertain we could have done anything to stop her. Miriam's scans showed she can fly faster than me both in the atmosphere and outer space. Besides, she was true to her word in all things. After a brief stop in Manhattan, she has departed from the planet."

"Well, that battle in the vehicle bay was certainly a barn burner," Rogers observed.

"Indeed. I enjoyed myself immensely," the Sub-Mariner declared with a satisfied grin on his face.

"Yeah, I'm psyched you old fossils had such a good time while I almost got killed by the not-so-jolly gold giant," Kitty snarked. "Man, am I pooped! Can we go home now?"

Before Icon could answer the young woman's question, Miriam announced over the intercom, "Arnus, you and your teammates are needed in the med bay now!"

"Beam us there immediately!" he ordered.

When they arrived, they all stopped short at the sight of the large cocoon on the bio-bed where Rogue had been placed for treatment a short while ago.

#

TBC

 **Thank you for choosing to read this story and for your reviews!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Note: the characters from the X-men:Evolution and Marvel Comics belong to Marvel Comics. The character of Icon belongs to DC Comics. My thanks go to the creators of Icon, the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only and no money shall be earned by the writer._

 **Chapter 6**

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **Icon's Starship inside Its Hangar under the Swimming Pool**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **0211 EST**

"Augustus! What has happened to Rogue?!"

Five of the members of the reconstituted superhero team, the Invaders, turned away from the cocoon that held its sixth member to face a quite concerned Charles Xavier and Ororo Munroe after Miriam had beamed the pair to the med bay.

The tall alien from another universe began to answer the Professor's question. "The scientists at the hidden base had created an enhanced artificial human being who wields cosmic energy. They had intended to use this entity to build a master race. They wanted to use these beings as the vanguard to help the scientists take over the world. During the infiltration of the base, this entity was confused and saw Wolverine and Shadowcat as enemies. Before it could harm them, Rogue selflessly tried to absorb the entity's powers."

Ororo gasped. "She saved her teammates' lives?"

He nodded. "Yes. However, instead of absorbing the entity's powers, somehow, a sort of transference between Rogue and the entity occurred due to the unstable nature of the creature's neural system at that moment in time. Both the entity's neural system and sexual identity became modeled after Rogue's while Rogue gained several of the woman's powers and developed the absolute mastery over her own mutant ability, according to the artificial woman. Then after the woman had destroyed the base and we'd return to the ship, we found Rogue encased inside the cocoon you see before you."

"Chuck," Logan said, "the artificial woman formed inside a cocoon that looked like just like this one."

 _"Professor,"_ Miriam said, _"Although it was a challenge, I was finally able to penetrate the cocoon using my subspace scanners. Somehow, the contact between the entity and Rogue used Rogue's mutant ability to change her cellular structure. Now nearly every cell in Rogue's body has the ability to store and use cosmic energy similar to the way the artificial woman did. Further, it appears that Rogue will be able to fly at least as fast as Icon and possesses super human strength almost one half of Icon's upper limit. She is virtually invulnerable, able to survive in any environment, and emit electron discharges from her body similar to the energy bolts Icon emits from his body."_

"Miriam," Xavier asked, "is her genetic structure still in flux?"

 _"No. Her structure has been stable for the past twelve minutes."_

"Understood," the Professor said. Then he closed his eyes and brought the fingertips of both hands up to his temples. "She is resting now; she's almost in a REM state."

"Professor, what does that mean as to her condition?" Captain America asked.

"I don't know. I can only speculate that if her cellular structure has stabilized, she is in the recovery period of the metamorphosis process."

"So, like, is she going to be okay, Professor?"

"Sounds that way to me, Half Pint," Logan said.

"From your lips to Neptune's ears, Logan," the Sub-Mariner declared. "May He watch over this noble child's well-being."

Wolverine grunted. "Damn it! If I'd made Half Pint and the little spitfire leave earlier, none of this would have happened."

"Mr. Logan!" Kitty snapped. "If she hadn't been there, we could have been seriously injured or worse by the not-so-jolly-gold-giant. Like always, Rogue did what she believed she had to do."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Our little spitfire's got the heart of a lioness."

Icon then said, "Miriam and I shall continue to monitor her condition while the rest of you escort Charles down to the cargo hold to deal with our 'guests.'"

"How can I be of assistance?" the Professor asked.

"Professor," Captain America said, "the men who developed the process to create these enhanced artificial humans have been detained in the cargo hold. The first time they tried to create one of these beings, the entity accidentally killed one of their partners. This time, their new creature would have destroyed everyone on that island, including the three scientists, if Icon hadn't talked her out of it. If these men continue down this path, they may bring about the destruction of the human race, mutants and non-mutants, alike."

"Indeed," Namor observed. "Further, if the knowledge they have developed is taken by any government, the same result could occur inadvertently."

Xavier regarded the two living legends soberly. "What you are asking goes against every fiber of my being."

"We understand your hesitation, Charles," Ororo said. "However, considering the damage these men have already done along with the nightmare scenario they present to the world if they manage to succeed, I believe we have no other choice."

He closed his eyes for several moments. Then he shot a hard gaze at Rogers. "Very well. Take me to them."

"Thank you, Professor," Captain America said. "After you're done with them, I'd like to have SHIELD come here and take them into custody."

"I am agreeable to that, Captain. However, I must insist that none of the SHIELD agents are to be told anything about any of our students, particularly Shadowcat and Rogue. Further, they must not disturb the children's sleep; I would appreciate if they are discreet when they come here."

"I can live with that, sir."

As Logan wheeled the Professor into the corridor, the Windrider turned to Shadowcat. "Now I believe it's bedtime for you, young lady. You have to attend school in the morning."

"But…what about Rogue?!"

Ororo sighed. "Kitty, your roommate is in good hands with Mr. Freeman. Now come along. To help you sleep, I'll give you a mild sedative, all right?"

"Okay," Kitty grumbled before Miriam swept the two female mutants up in the ship's transmat beam.

#

 **Professor Xavier's Office**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **0417 EST**

After the large black van had departed from the mansion's circular driveway, Ororo patiently waited inside the foyer until she heard a discrete rap on the front door.

She opened it to find a thin Black man who stood only a few inches taller than her standing alongside an attractive yet severe-looking White woman with brunette hair who stood a few inches shorter than Storm. The man was bald and had a dark eyepatch over his left eye. Both of the newcomers wore dark body suits and the man also was garbed in a black leather duster.

Standing behind the pair were Captain America and Logan. When the man had taken a good look at her, he smiled and shot a look at her fellow instructor over his right shoulder. "Logan, your description of your colleague simply did not do her justice. You should have told me the sister is fine!"

A bemused Windrider simply cocked a well-groomed eyebrow at the man who regarded her in a respectful and friendly manner.

"It is certainly a pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Munroe. I'm Nick Fury, the Director of SHIELD. This young lady," he indicated with a nod of his head to the other woman, "is Maria Hill, my assistant director. May we please come inside to speak to Professor Xavier?"

"Of course, Director Fury," she said and allowed the quartet to enter the foyer before closing the door. "Right this way, please," she said and led the small party upstairs.

When they entered the Professor's office, she announced, "Excuse me, Charles. Director Fury and Assistant Director Hill are here to speak with you."

"Director Fury," Charles said, "Assistant Director Hill, welcome to the Institute."

Fury strode to a spot directly in front of Charles' desk with Hill by his side. "Professor," he said to Charles then turned to face Namor who stood near the window that overlooked the front lawn. "Your highness."

"Fury," Namor replied.

The Director then turned back to face Xavier. "Professor, thank you for agreeing to meet with us so early in the morning."

"Think nothing of it, Director. Considering all the excitement from earlier, I believe it is safe to say I would not have been able to retire for the evening until the entire operation had been completed."

Fury smirked. "You don't say! Well, when I'd prepared to retire for the evening, imagine my surprise when I was told that a team of…" then he whirled on his assistant director and snapped, "Hill! What was that term they'd used to use for superheroes back when your granddaddy fought in World War II?"

"Mystery men, sir."

"That's it! Yes, a team of mystery men who were last active back in 1945 had apparently come out of retirement alongside a tall-ass brother who fires bolts of energy from his fists and is strong enough to give our resident Asgardian a run for his money to take down some mad scientists' hidden base on an island in the North Atlantic."

Namor glared at Fury and sighed deeply. "Nicholas, I am puzzled somewhat by your attitude. The outcome of our mission was successful. What troubles you?"

The man shot a harsh glare at Sub-Mariner then Logan then Rogers with his one good eye. "I'll tell you what troubles me. You guys don't give us a heads up, no notice, nothing! You just saddle up and take it to the bad guys without a care in the world until you need someone to detain all those bad guys you rounded up! I had to activate substantial resources at the drop of a hat to apprehend and process three hundred dangerous criminals from the freaking middle of the North Atlantic, damn it! And that's just the tip of the iceberg, your highness! Guess who's going to get stuck explaining your operation to the United Nations, since that island is governed by one of its treaties, and the U.S. Congress? You're looking at him!"

Namor narrowed his eyes at the irate man. "I fail to see how your concerns are relevant to the Invaders, Fury. If you had bothered to review the treaty that established our team you would have seen that any Invader operation requires only a single sovereign of the three treaty nations, Atlantis, the United States, or the United Kingdom, to approve of the operation. Since I am the sovereign of Atlantis, I approved it. After that, according to the terms of the treaty, the other treaty nations are required to render any and all assistance to ensure the successful completion of the operation."

"Are you serious?!" Hill snapped. "That treaty is a relic that should have ended alongside World War II!"

"Unfortunately for you, Hill," Namor stated, "treaties are not living entities subject to the Grim Reaper. Unless a treaty is abrogated by the treaty parties, it is the law of the land for them."

While Hill and the Sub-Mariner glared at each other, Logan chuckled loudly. When everyone else in the room regarded the feral mutant, he said, "McKenzie, don't waste your breath. The fact we took those bastards down without asking Fury's permission ain't what has his panties all in a bunch."

If looks could kill, Logan would have been disintegrated by the gaze Fury had shot Logan's way. "And I thought the only mind-reader in the room was the good professor, silly me!"

Ororo's eyes shot wide open at Fury's declaration. _Charles,_ she flashed to him through their open telepathic connection, _Fury knows about your powers?_

 _I'm afraid so, my dear,_ Charles' mind responded to her.

Now Logan said, "I don't need to have Chuck's abilities to know you're pissed because we had the Professor erase those bastard's knowledge about creating enhanced artificial slaves!"

"You bet we're pissed!" Hill spat. "Think of the knowledge those men had possessed! If we could have access to it, we could enhance the Avengers, develop operatives for SHIELD that could help us bring down the likes of HYDRA or AIM!"

"Perhaps," Namor noted. "But if you possessed the knowledge, who would be there to protect us from the likes of you?"

"That's not your call to make!" Hill argued.

"Actually, ma'am, you're wrong. The treaty gives us all the authority we need to act in the best interests of not just the treaty nations. We were tasked to act on behalf of the entire world," Rogers said. "And all I've got to say is that after fighting a global war to keep one so-called master race from taking over the world, I sure as hell don't want to allow another one to attempt to do the same thing!"

Before Hill could say anything more, Fury reached out and gently gripped her left shoulder with his right hand. "Hill…enough." Then he turned to face Xavier. "Everything those men knew about creating enhanced artificial human beings is gone?"

"For good," Xavier said.

"And no one, not even you, could ever recover or recreate the knowledge?"

The Professor shook his head. "I erased any memory or knowledge that could be connected to the process in any way, shape or form from their minds. Further, I placed a mental block that would keep them from pursuing any line of thought in regards to the process. And as for myself, my abilities do not allow me to retain their knowledge even if I had wanted to."

Fury nodded. Then he turned to Logan. "And the data?"

"Completely destroyed. The entire facility was annihilated by their creation before she left the planet for good."

Fury's one good eye blinked twice before the man appeared to relax and shrug. "I guess that's all there is to it then." A moment later, he glanced upwards and cupped his right hand to his ear. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ororo asked.

"That was my bed calling my name," he quipped. "Hill, let's go so these nice folks can 'retire' for what's left of their evenings."

However, before he exited the room in the company of both Maria Hill and Ororo, he shot a look at each man in the office and smirked. "Oh, you all should probably know that I'm going to be keeping an eye on you."

Then he turned and followed both women downstairs.

#

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **Icon's Starship inside Its Hangar under the Swimming Pool**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **0444 EST**

 _"Arnus!"_ Miriam warned. _"I'm reading a massive build-up of energy inside the cocoon."_

"What kind of energy?" he asked.

 _"I am detecting a massive quantity of electron particles."_

He grimaced when he saw the readout. If that amount of energy was allowed to discharge inside the med bay, the room would suffer substantial damage. He acted quickly and modified his positron emissions to erect a force field around the cocoon to contain the building energy discharge.

Moments later, there was a bright flash and the cocoon ripped asunder.

When his vision cleared, he spied Rogue hovering a few inches off the floor inside his azure force field.

She gazed at him with bemused eyes and drawled, "Mr. Freeman! You're sure a sight for sore eyes!"

He studied her carefully. When she appeared to be acting normally, he lowered the force field. "Rogue…how do you feel?"

She floated down to rest both feet on the deck and smiled. "Ah feel fahne…Ah think. Though, my uniform seems to be a bit too snug on me."

Indeed, he'd noticed. Her uniform appeared to be nearly bursting at the seams. Before, she'd been a few inches taller than Shadowcat, the smallest X-Man. Now she stood as tall as Jean Grey and the curves of her bust line, hips and thighs were closer in scale to Ororo Munroe's than any of the Institute girls, Jean included.

Suddenly, she glanced down at her chest and her eyes shot wide open. "Goodness gracious! Would you look at those!" she gasped.

In response Augustus Freeman struggled mightily to avoid doing as she'd suggested.

#

 **TBC**

 **Thank you for choosing to read this story and for your reviews!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Note: the characters from the X-men:Evolution and Marvel Comics belong to Marvel Comics. The character of Icon belongs to DC Comics. My thanks go to the creators of Icon, the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only and no money shall be earned by the writer._

 **Chapter 7**

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **Icon's Starship inside Its Hangar under the Swimming Pool**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **0630 EST**

"Well, we're happy to see you up and about, young lady!"

Rogue smiled at Captain America then the Sub-Mariner, followed by Icon, then Wolverine and, finally, Storm. "Thanks, Cap! Ah appreciate y'all's support!"

They all were together in the ship's med bay. Before everyone had arrived, she had the opportunity to remove her ill-fitting costume and undergarments. She was now dressed in new garments provided to her by the ship's Maker, the device that constructed and deconstructed Icon's costume at the hero's mental command.

In the past, her powers had never worked on Icon, most likely due to the fact he was an alien, so they had to wait until she had tested her new ability on Ororo before they confirmed her mutant power was completely under her conscious control. No longer would accidental contact with her skin be a concern for the X-Men. Afterwards, Icon had the Maker construct appropriate undergarments, sandals similar to those that Kitty wore, and a green mini-skirt/crop top ensemble trimmed in white to Rogue's specifications.

Now the King of the Seven Seas gave her a curt smile. "Think nothing of it, young one. Kathryn and you are Invaders now and forever. We would never go our separate ways until we were certain that you were all right. However, I must take my leave now that the crisis is over and return to my kingdom."

"Namor, do you mind dropping me off at the Avengers mansion before you head home?" Captain America asked.

"Not at all, Steven. "

"Thanks!" the Sentinel of Freedom said. Then he turned to Wolverine and Icon. "Well, it was nice working with you again, Jim and it was great working with your two little spitfires and you, Gus!"

"It was great to see you in action again, Cap," Wolverine said.

"I'm sure I speak both for the girls and me in saying it was wonderful working with Namor and you, Steve."

"Well, let's hope we can do it again sometime…but not too soon!"

Wolverine grinned. "I'll drink to that!"

"I'll have Miriam beam you onto the lawn behind the mansion," Icon said. "Take care."

"Farewell," Namor said before the transmat beam sent the Sub-Mariner and Captain America on their way.

Moments later, Rogue flashed a smile at her instructors. "Well, Ah better get some breakfast before Ah'm off to school."

"Are you certain you wish to attend school today?" Ororo asked. "You did have quite an eventful experience last night."

"Even so, Ah feel fahne! Ah ain't tired at all!"

"I am not surprised," Augustus observed. "Your body is practically a cosmic battery. Considering the planet is constantly bombarded by cosmic energy, you should continuously recharge and rarely feel fatigue."

"Perhaps so," Ororo said. "Still, I want you to avoid any exertion or use of your new powers until Augustus and Logan have had the opportunity to evaluate you in the Danger Room, Rogue."

"Indeed," Freeman said. "And before we conduct your evaluation, Miriam, you and I will design a new costume for you that should work well with your new powers, all right?"

"Man! That sounds great, Mr. Freeman! Well, Ah gotta go! I'll see y'all after school!" she exclaimed. Then Miriam beamed the young woman to the mansion.

After the girl had left the ship, both Augustus and Logan gave Ororo skittish looks. "Darlin'…that new outfit of hers…it sure exposes plenty of skin."

"True, Logan," the Windrider said. "However, considering how constrained she must have felt in the past having nearly every inch of her body covered to protect anyone from accidental exposure to her powers, I understand why she'd want to be more...liberal in her choice of clothing."

"Yes, but does her outfit have to be so…revealing?" Augustus complained.

She gave both men bemused looks. "That outfit covers far more than what some of her school mates choose to wear nowadays."

"Yeah…but none of her school chums are built the way she is now, are they?" Logan snapped.

Smiling wryly, the Windrider padded toward both men like a lioness stalking her prey before she gave them each a tender kiss on their cheeks. "It is amusing to see you both so protective of our little Rogue. To me it shows that you both shall be wonderful fathers one day."

As the two shocked men glared at her, Ororo said, "Miriam, would you be a dear and beam me to the foyer?"

Then she was immediately transported from the med bay, leaving her fellow instructors speechless in her wake.

#

 **Bayville High School Gymnasium**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **0728 EST**

Scott Summers sat on one of the benches near the rafters of the gym skimming through his text book while he waited for the assembly to begin. Paul, his non-mutant school friend, then tapped him on his shoulder and pointed out Jean after she'd walked onto the basketball court dressed in her light purple shirt and cargo pants ensemble.

She scanned the large room appearing as if she was searching for someone. Then she flipped a lock of her flaming red hair off of her forehead and glanced up toward the stands.

Smiling now, Scott stood and waved to her. He felt a warmth in the pit of his stomach when she appeared to have seen him. However, when he'd realized she was actually responding to a greeting from her boyfriend, Duncan, who was several rows down from Scott's seat, the smile ran away from the young mutant's face.

When she went to sit with Matthews, the leader of the X-Men flopped down onto the bench while Paul gave him a look that told the young man his friend had 'felt his pain.' Then while Summers wallowed in his misery, he saw a paper airplane pass over his shoulder out of the corner of his eye. As his gaze tracked the tiny aircraft's flight until it struck the wall near one of the entrances into the gymnasium where the Brotherhood of Mutants happened to be standing, one of the main doors swung open and a goddess marched into the room.

When he took a close look at the young woman his eyes opened wide behind his glasses. She was as tall as Jean but that was where the similarities had ended. The young woman's face could have made the ancient Greeks launch a thousand ships to win her back from Troy. Her feminine curves and gloriously tanned skin were showcased by the green with white trim crop top and mini-skirt ensemble she wore that drew him to her like the proverbial moth to the flame. It was only after he'd recognized the white bangs and auburn hair that he'd felt as if Juggernaut's massive fist had just slammed him right in the gut.

"Holy crap, Scott!" Paul whispered harshly as they stared at the young woman. "Is that…is that Rogue?!"

The X-Man swallowed a lump in his throat while he systematically scanned every square inch of her body. "I-I think so. T-that's Rogue?" he stammered.

"Dude…what the hell?!" Paul rasped. "I mean, I've always known she was a pretty girl…but damn! She's insanely hot now!"

Scott didn't utter a single word. He simply nodded, agreeing with his friend's keen observation.

#

Down near the entrance to the gym, Tod Tolansky a/k/a the Toad, was leaping to and fro attempting to catch some flies. A few moments later, he stopped and turned to his fellow Brotherhood members. "Man, this bombs, yo! Even the flies here think they're better than us!"

His best friend Fred Dukes, also known as the Blob, shook his head. "Yeah, I don't even know what we're doing here at school anyway."

Quicksilver, otherwise known as Pietro Maximof, chortled. "True, but we know what Lance is doing here. I'd say he'd like to get a certain kitty stuck in a tree," he quipped as he nodded toward the X-Man, Kathryn Pryde who was seated in the stands.

As the other three boys laughed at Pietro's joke, Lance Alvers a/k/a Avalanche, growled and tried to punch the speedster in the arm. However, Quicksilver avoided the blow allowing Tod to take the hit.

Just then a fairly tall girl entered the gym and the four boys simply stared at her in disbelief because she was the most beautiful woman they'd ever seen. As the stone-cold hottie strode right past them without even a glance their way, Pietro gasped. "OhmigodIthinkthatsRogue!"

Alvers turned and glared at his friends. "What did twinkle-toes say?"

"I think he said," Tod translated for the other two boys, 'Oh my God, I think that's Rogue!"

Both Alvers' and Dukes' eyes shot wide open. "Holy crap!" Alvers almost yelled as he watched the sensuous movement of the girl's shapely hips as she strutted across the court. "Pietro's right!"

"Man," Tod whined, "I was wrong before. Now, _this_ bombs! Let's face it, even though our place is a complete and total sausage-fest, it was kinda tolerable when the Institute girls were only cute. Now that Stripes has upped her game, I'm way more depressed than I was before!"

#  
Unaware of the effect her new figure had on the vast majority of boys and nearly a quarter of the girls in the gym, Rogue approached the front row where she spied an attractive girl about her age sitting on the bench with a sheet of paper in her hands. The girl was dressed in a light purple long sleeve tee shirt and purple slacks that matched the dyed color of her hair.

"Excuse me…" the girl began to ask her a question; however, she stopped and simply stared at her.

"Can Ah help you?" she asked the startled youth.

"Um…I'm so sorry," the other girl replied in an English accent. "I was…just wondering how long do these assemblies last?"

"Huh? Oh, too long," Rogue responded. "But at least it gets us out of class."

"Right…" the young woman murmured as she continued to stare at her in disbelief for some unfathomable reason. "Class. My next one should be..." her voice trailed off.

Rogue reached for the schedule in the other girl's hand; however, the young woman seemed to be quite intent on making certain her fingers didn't touch Rogue's. Although the girl's reticence about contact made Rogue a tad suspicious, after further reflection, she shrugged it off. _Maybe she just doesn't like to be touched by strangers,_ Rogue mused inwardly.

Now she scanned the document and said, "It should be geometry with Mr. Barton." Then she eyed the other girl and noted, "You're new!"

"Yeah. I'm Risty Wilde from Manchester, England."

"Cool. Ah'm Rogue. Why don't you hang out afterwards and Ah'll show you where Mr. Barton's class is."

#

Once the student body began to settle down for the start of the assembly, Lance had finally shaken himself out of his stupor over Rogue. Even though the girl was now smoking hot, for Lance, there was only one girl who owned the keys to his heart.

Now he climbed onto the second level of the bleachers and tossed a kid out of the way to make room for himself on the bench behind Kitty Pryde. Then he leaned over the girl's left shoulder and whispered, "Hey, Kitty! I didn't see you there at first."

She glanced at him, smirked and responded sarcastically, "Oh look! It's the walking Richter scale. Shouldn't you be erupting somewhere?"

When his friends overheard Kitty's jibe, they all laughed at him.

Lance didn't like that one bit.

Soon after, the assistant principal stood behind the podium on the gymnasium floor and announced, "And now everyone let's give a warm Bayville High welcome to our new principal, Mr. Edward Kelly."

A fairly tall man wearing both glasses and an ill-fitting suit stood up from one of the folding chairs behind the podium and shook hands with the assistant principal while the students applauded politely.

Suddenly the little devil on Lance's shoulder tempted the boy to use his powers. He clenched his hand and the floor began to quiver, startling almost everyone and nearly making the new principal lose his footing. In response, Kitty shot a hard look at him over her shoulder. When he saw her glare, he ceased the tremors and shot a faux innocent look her way. She then rolled her eyes, faced forward once again and giggled, apparently amused by his little show.

Pleased that the girl of his dreams had thought his little gag was funny, he couldn't leave well-enough alone. Lance whispered, "Hey, Kitty, want to see some real shaking?" Then he closed his eyes and concentrated, causing the entire gymnasium to rock and roll.

#

When the entire building began to rumble, Kitty turned and gave the boy she had a secret crush on an incredulous look. _What in the heck is he trying to do? Out himself as a mutant?_ she thought.

She knew she had to do something fast before someone got hurt. Recalling the discussion she'd had yesterday with the Professor, Scott and Kurt about doing what you can without revealing their powers, she acted.

"Excuse me, Lance," she purred trying to sound seductive like some woman from a James Bond film. "Is this seat taken?"

The boy's eyes shot wide open, his concentration was shattered, and the shaking came to an immediate halt when she placed her hands on his thighs, pulled herself up, and scooted onto his lap.

"Whoa…Kitty!?"

She wrapped her left arm around his shoulder and whispered into his ear, "Lance, get a clue, okay! I don't want any of us to be exposed, so cut it out!"

"Oh yeah? Why should I?"

"What? You don't want me to sit here?" she asked as she wiggled her bottom against him.

He blinked a few times before he realized she'd given him the best reason in the world to stop what he'd been doing. "Um…n-no. Y-you're good."

#

When the shaking had subsided, everyone began to calm themselves. Then the new principal straightened the glasses on his face and stood up tall behind the podium. "Woo! Since when is Bayville on a fault line?"

After the students all laughed at his joke, Mr. Kelly continued with his speech. "Anyway, I want to welcome you all to a new semester. I know filling the vacuum left by your previous principal, Ms. Darkholme, will not be an easy job. However, it is a challenge to which I am looking forward. And that brings me to what I hope will be the theme of the coming semester—meeting new challenges. You know, most of us go through life thinking we're not so different from the people around us. And that's a mistake. Because, I'll wager that every one of us here has some unique talents. Some special gifts. Some ability that makes us stand out from the crowd. However, that said, I want your second priority to be," he exclaimed as he pulled the microphone of its stand and strode from behind the podium toward the bleachers, "supporting the girls soccer team for the championship!"

While the students cheered heartily in support of his exhortation, he said, "And that means I want every one of you to turn out tonight for the big pre-game rally! Can we count on you?"

The students' cheers grew louder while Mr. Kelly smiled broadly and pumped his fist excitedly in the air.

#

 **Bayville High School Street Entrance**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **1431 EST**

Scott leaned against the side of his car while he waited for Kitty, Kurt and Jean to meet him in front of the school so he could ferry them all back to the Institute. Then he saw one of Jean's friends walking with another girl nearby. He turned to her and asked, "Hey, Sandy! Have you seen Jean?"

Sandy shook her head. "No, I haven't seen her."

Then, for some reason, when the two girls began to walk away, they giggled at him, making him feel like a total chump. Clearly, they'd believed he was some kind of loser for putting himself out over a girl who was already the girlfriend of the school's first string quarterback.

He shook his head and sighed. What in the hell had happened to change their relationship so drastically over the summer break and the first month of the school year? He really didn't have a clue. Sure, she'd always been one of the popular girls in school, beautiful and admired by nearly everyone. Even so, during the prior school year, she'd been close with both the other kids at the Institute and him. Last year, she'd always spent her lunch breaks with them. Now she spent her lunch breaks with the popular crowd and Duncan.

Although he hadn't said anything to Jean yet, for fear that she might think he was jealous of Matthews, it was getting to the point where he may have to raise the issue with her for the benefit of the team. For instance, Kurt and Evan had commented about her standoffish attitude on several occasions while Kitty had mentioned once she'd felt Jean had abandoned them while they were at school. Finally, Rogue had been consistent about her distaste for Jean's 'Miss Popular' persona ever since the Southern Belle had joined the team.

At that moment, when his thoughts had turned to Rogue, a goofy smile dawned on his face. Kitty had told him a little about the girls' mission last night with Logan's World War II buddies. He'd still found it hard to believe that Rogue now possessed absolute mastery over her mutant ability along with the powers and changes to her body she'd inherited from the cosmic entity they'd encountered. During the past few months, he'd considered Rogue a good friend, especially after she'd saved his life from Mystique. Yet, his focus had always been on Jean as a potential romantic interest.

However, once he'd seen how hot Rogue had looked this morning, maybe he should be open to new possibilities!

"Lance! What is wrong with you? Were you trying to impress your fan boys with that crazy stunt you pulled in the gym this morning?"

Scott's musings came to a screeching halt when he heard Kitty loudly berating Alvers as the pair confronted each other next to Lance's jeep which contained Toad, Quicksilver and the Blob.

"Look, I said I was sorry for shaking up the place, Kitty. Come on, don't be mad."

"If I hadn't persuaded you to stop, somebody could have been hurt! Also, you might have exposed us!"

"If I had, would that be so bad?"

Kitty turned away from Alvers and headed toward Scott's car as she snapped at the boy over her shoulder. "Lance, you can be such a jerk sometimes!"

"Kitty! Wait!" the boy exclaimed and snatched her left wrist. Immediately, when she struggled against his grip, Alvers paused and a look of self-loathing clouded his face.

Before he could release her and offer an apology, she phased her wrist out of the boy's hand just as Scott growled, "Alvers! Leave her alone!"

Now, the shaken expression on Alvers' face shifted to a look of anger. "Hey, why don't you go and recharge your batteries, goggle boy? This is between me and her!"

"Yeah? Well, now it's between you and me!" the X-Man snapped as he raised his right hand toward his glasses.

In response, Alvers shoved Scott in the chest and retreated several paces. "Go ahead, Summers! Take your best shot! Let's see those eyes blast me through the fence. Right here, right now!"

He was sorely tempted to blast the creep into the next zip code; however, before he could lift his glasses, Kitty sprinted over and grabbed his left arm. "Scott! Don't let him bait you! He knows we can't do that stuff out in the open."

He watched Alvers with narrowed eyes as the other boy crossed his arms across his chest and smirked. _Just you wait, Alvers,_ he swore under his breath. _You'll get yours someday._ "Come on, Kitty," he murmured. "Let's go."

Then they turned away from the Brotherhood and marched to his car with the sound of the boys' mocking laughter taunting them.

#

 **TBC**

 **Thank you for choosing to read this story and for your reviews!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **Danger Room**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **1530 EST**

"Ah'm feeling a bit of a burn…now."

Rogue gritted her teeth against the strain of the hydraulic press against her muscles.

"Don't worry," Icon said. "The momentary stress you're experiencing should pass in a moment when your body begins to use your cosmic energy reserves."

Almost at the time he'd spoken, she felt a surge of energy flow through her biceps and quadriceps. "Mr. Freeman, you were right! Ah feel fahne now. By the way, how much weight was Ah pressing before?"

"You were pressing seven tons," he reported. "Once you reached the limits of your denser musculature, the cells that store cosmic energy inside your body uses the energy to enhance your strength. Now, we need to determine the upper level of your strength while using your energy stores."

"All right—Ah'm ready!"

While her instructor slowly increased the weight pressing down upon her muscles, he counted the tonnage out loud. "Ten…fifteen…twenty…thirty…forty—how are you doing, Rogue?"

She grunted loudly; however, she did not waiver. "Ah'm good. Don't stop!"

"Very well then. Let's continue. Forty-five…fifty…fifty-five." He paused momentarily as he carefully scrutinized his student's efforts. "Sixty tons…sixty-five," he noted while he witnessed her legs begin to tremble under the strain. "Rogue…"

"I'm…still…good. Just a little…more," she gasped.

He nodded and increased the weight slowly until the indicator showed seventy tons. Just then, Miriam's voice sounded from the Danger Room's speakers. "Arnus, the sensors in her body armor detect an imminent disruption in the flow of cosmic energy to the muscles that are under stress."

"Disengaging the hydraulic press!" he snapped.

"Ah definitely felt Ah'd reached my limit!" she panted even though she had a wide smile on her sweat-stained face. "Hey…how did Miriam know Ah was getting ready to lose it?"

He turned to her and said, "The body armor we fashioned for you is basically the same, structurally, as mine. There are subspace sensors embedded inside the Cooperative alloys the Maker used for your new costume. They allow Miriam to monitor you and your welfare at all times while you are wearing either of your suits."

She glanced down at the new costume she wore. She had showed Miriam and him the design she'd drawn during some down-time she'd had during her classes that day. The suit fit her snugly. It was green with white trim around the upper portion of her boots, her gauntlets, and around her waist. The white trim continued up from her waist to a circle with a white arrow pointing upward toward her face. Another feature of her new outfit was a green hooded cloak with white trim along its edges.

The new outfit was for use when Icon was teaching her how to fly or when she was working with him or the Invaders. The Maker had fashioned another costume using the same alloys for her that was modeled on her old X-Man costume when she worked with her teammates.

Both outfits were constructed and deconstructed over her civilian clothing by the Maker at Rogue's command via the subspace communicator she'd been given by Icon.

Now she smiled at him and spoke to both Miriam and him. "Ah can't thank you both enough for these new uniforms. Ah love them!"

"Well, there was no question that you needed something new after the transformation you'd undergone. Also, considering your new abilities and your willingness to throw yourself into harm's way," he stated, his expression quite serious, "Miriam and I believed that it was best to provide you with as much protection as we could."

She smiled. "Still, Ah don't know how Ah can ever repay y'all."

"Young lady, as long as you never ask Arnus to fashion any more undergarments for you, I am certain that he is willing to call it even."

"I couldn't have said it better myself, Miriam," Icon agreed.

Rogue nearly burst out laughing at the uncomfortable expression on Mr. Freeman's face at that moment. "All right then, Mr. Freeman. Y'all got yourselves a deal!"

#

 **Xavier Institute for Gifted Children**

 **Kitchen**

 **Bayville, NY**

 **1530 EST**

"My dear, I have dined in some of the finest establishments in several of the grand cities on my Earth and have tasted cuisine that couldn't hold a candle to yours!"

Ororo smiled at Augustus' compliment. "Although that is kind of you to say, I am certain that you are exaggerating a tiny bit."

He shook his head. "Ororo, I wholeheartedly meant every word. Trust me."

She blushed, pleased by his praise.

That evening, the X-Men had taken Charles to the State High School Girls' Soccer Final to watch Jean and her teammates compete for the championship. Logan had gone out for a little while, leaving Augustus and her to mind the New Mutants at the Institute. While the children were in the drawing room watching a movie, Augustus and she had shared a private and peaceful dinner at the small kitchen table with the overhead lights off and a pair of lit candlesticks providing a romantic ambience to their dining experience.

She glanced at the man who'd come into their lives after their unlikely meeting on the remote South Atlantic island. Charles had discovered not only an extraterrestrial life form, he'd found a confidant and a friend who was as impressive in both presence and intellect as the Professor himself. Logan had found a comrade who'd seen and done many of the things that Logan had experienced during his lifetime of combat. The X-Men and the New Mutants had been blessed with an instructor who tempered their impetuous natures with his dignity and grace.

And she…well, she had come to realize she was beginning to fall hard for the man.

Then, when she realized he appeared to be studying her intensely, she snapped, "What?!"

"I was just thinking that candlelight definitely agrees with you, Ororo."

"Thank you, Augustus," she said. Then she hesitated momentarily and began to say, "I was just wondering…" Although she'd wanted to ask him if he was as attracted to her as she was to him, instead she asked, "What did you uncover during our little Rogue's assessment?"

He seemed surprised by her question. Recovering quickly, he said, "She is quite strong. Based on information Miriam has gathered, Rogue is just as strong as the Fantastic Four's rocky fellow. She can project energy bolts comprised of electrons from her hands. During our tests today, the energy beams she fired penetrated two inches of hardened steel. She has super speed and reflexes. She topped 400 miles per hour while running and she was able to break the sound barrier in level flight. According to Miriam's readings, she was far short of her top speed on both the land and in the air. Also, although we didn't test for it, Miriam believes that Rogue could use her power cosmic to heal herself and others as well as transforming matter into other forms."

A stunned Windrider stared at him in disbelief. "By the Goddess!"

He regarded her with a serious look. "Essentially, she has become the most powerful X-Man overnight. Her energy projection abilities may soon outpace Scott's. Her mental shields, according to Charles, are significantly stronger. She could block either Jean or Charles from telepathically affecting her if she so chooses. And all of this is in addition to her ability to drain the powers and memories of other mutants."

She nodded solemnly. "I see. What do you intend to do to help her hone her new abilities?"

"I intend to take her to remote areas and train her to use her new powers. To facilitate such training, Miriam and I encouraged her to design another uniform that is different from the one she wears as an X-Man. When she wears her green uniform, she is unlikely to be connected to the X-Men in deference to Charles wishes. Also, she is more likely to be seen as an enhanced human as most of the public sees Logan, you and me. Actually, my only concern is that I believe she will want to be referred to as 'Rogue' rather than a code name like most super heroes had on my Earth."

Ororo smirked at him. "She is quite attached to that nickname, I fear."

"True," he agreed.

"However, I believe you are taking the proper approach in regards to our little Rogue, despite the discomfort she put you through when she'd outgrown her old uniform," she teased.

He cocked his right eyebrow wryly in response. "Even though she has blossomed overnight into a woman physically, emotionally she is still a teen-ager."

"Perhaps. I suppose that you, a member of an advanced extraterrestrial race, would not be susceptible to the charms of human females."

"Ororo, that is not true in your case."

She smiled sensually at him. "Is that a fact?"

"Well, let us just say that I am far from being immune to your charms, Ororo Munroe."

Just as she was going to suggest that they take a romantic stroll under the moon lit sky, she heard Charles' telepathic summons in her mind. "Storm! We need you at the soccer field!"

After he'd told her about the Brotherhood's antics, she sighed and told Charles, "I'll be there. I shall also bring Augustus with me."

Once Charles had broken their telepathic connection, she turned to her dining companion. "I'm sorry, Augustus. That was Charles. It appears that the Brotherhood has exposed the X-Men and itself to the people at the soccer finals."

"We should go," he said.

They rushed outside and she called for a gust of wind to lift her up into the sky. She then directed to gusts to form a funnel around her form and cast a magic spell she'd learned long ago from a witch doctor during her time in Africa to transform her clothing into her uniform.

Moments later, Augustus was in the air at her side in his Icon armor and mask. "I can get us there quickly," he offered.

She agreed with a nod and allowed him to lift her in his arms like a bride. When she turned her face from the wind and pressed her lips against his neck, she smiled inwardly after she noticed the man trembled slightly before they sped toward Bayville High School.

#

 **TBC**

 **Thank you for choosing to read this story and for your reviews!**


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